Levels of Selected Heavy Metals in Wheat Flour on the Ghanaian Market: A Determination by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

Abstract

Wheat flour is an important source of nutrient and as such is widely consumed in most part of the world, as bread and other pastries. Due to its high consumption, the presence of heavy metal at high concentration would be a significant health risk. Based on the soil in which the wheat was grown and the milling technology employed in making the flour, the heavy metal content of wheat flour varies. In analyzing heavy metal content of flour on the Ghanaian market, (one made in Ghana and another made in Turkey) an atomic absorption spectrophotometric analysis of milestone acid digested flour was used with the appropriate standards. With a 9%-100.4% recovery rate, Fe, Zn, Mn, Cd, Pb were detected at varying concentrations in both flour brands, while Co, Ni, Cu, Cr, As, Hg were below detection limits. The levels of the nutritionally important elements such as Fe and Zn would be beneficial to human health, while those of the toxic element present are not likely to pose any health risk to consumers of this flour.