Investigation of heavy metal contamination in doogh distributed in Shahrekord
Subject Areas : Food Hygiene
Hadiseh Baharlou
1
,
Maryam Abbasvali
2
*
,
مجتبی Boniadian
3
1 - M.Sc. Graduate of Food Hygiene and Quality Control, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran
2 - Associate professor, Department of Food Hygiene and Quality Control, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran
3 - Professor, Department of Food Hygiene and Quality Control, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran
Keywords: Doogh, Shahrekord, Heavy metals, Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry,
Abstract :
Considering the adverse effects of heavy metals on consumer health, this study aimed to quantify the contamination levels of arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury in traditional and industrial Doogh sold in Shahrekord retail outlets. Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) was used to measure the concentrations of these metals in 80 Doogh samples (40 industrial and 40 traditional). The results showed that arsenic levels were below the detection limit of the device. Two samples were contaminated: one (1.25%) with 400.63 µg/L of cadmium and one (1.25%) with 144.72 µg/L of lead. The average mercury level in all samples was 6.35 ± 13.20 µg/L. Twelve samples of industrial Doogh and eight samples of traditional Doogh contained mercury levels exceeding 10 µg/L. The average mercury concentrations in industrial and traditional Doogh were 2.41 ± 6.00 µg/L and 7.83 ± 12.74 µg/L in summer, respectively, and 13.69 ± 19.59 µg/L and 1.47 ± 6.46 µg/L in winter, respectively (p<0.05). Potential sources of heavy metals in Doogh include milk, salt, and water. Variations in the concentration of these metals can be attributed to factors such as the type of feed given to animals during different seasons, the type of animals in traditional versus industrial livestock operations, differences in production and processing stages, environmental pollution in various regions, and the quality of drinking water in animal husbandry facilities.