Investigation of heavy metal concentrations and determination of estimated daily intake and health risk index infant formula and baby foods in Zahedan in 2020

Abstract

Despite the importance of breastfeeding, complementary or complete feeding with infant formula is performed worldwide. Metal contaminants, especially lead and cadmium, have many toxic and adverse effects, especially in children. Therefore, this work was conducted to investigate the levels of lead and cadmium in infant formula and baby foods. This study was performed on 18 samples of infant formula and 7 samples of baby food. Random sampling was performed among the best-selling and most consumed brands available in the Zahedan market, and elements were measured by atomic absorption spectroscopy using a graphite furnace. Moreover, Estimated Daily Intake (EDI) and health risk index (HRI) were calculated for the average of the total data. The mean concentrations of lead in infant formula and baby food samples were 14.7±0.98 and 13.77±1.51 µg/kg, respectively; lead was observed in all samples, although the difference between the amount of lead in samples no. 2 and no. 9 and its standard amount was significant (p<0.05). The average concentrations of cadmium in infant formula and baby food samples were 0.097±0.016 and 0.705±0.12 µg/kg, respectively; it was observed in 22% of infant formula samples and 57% of baby food samples, but the difference in cadmium concentrations in the samples was not significant compared to the standard concentration (p>0.05). The highest EDI for lead in infant formula for ages of 0 to six months was 0.22 µg/ kg.day.bw. Also, the HRI for all samples was much less than one, which indicates that the baby’s food and infant formula are healthy in terms of daily intake of cadmium and lead. Finally, it can be concluded that the amount of cadmium and lead in the infant formula and baby food samples, according to some indicators, is less than the standard level.