Evaluation of trace and heavy metals in different varieties of sauces to characterize their impact on human health

Abstract

Food can be contaminated in various ways, as life is getting busier with the passing time and the demand for ready to use food is increasing. Trace and heavy metals are some of the predominant food chain contaminants which trigger the serious fitness effects in human beings even in the least concentration. The present work aimed to determine the heavy metals (HMs, Cd, and Pb) and trace metals (TMs, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn) content in different available brands of sauces which are being used in Pakistan. During the analysis of these metals, the accuracy was ensured by analyzing the standard reference material (SRM, 2384). The recovery rates ranged from 98.6 % to 101.2 % whereas the precision of the method are presented in % RSD which were obtained in a range of 0.20–6.40. Ni, Co, and Cd concentration in all samples under investigation were above the permissible limits as defined by WHO/FAO whereas Cr was not detected in any of the samples. Estimated daily intake (EDI) of Cu (5.9–8.2 ×10−4) was the highest while Pb (0.16–1.3 ×10−4) was the lowest among the metals investigated. Target hazard quotient (THQ) values were obtained in the range of 0.9–1.0, 0.39–0.70, 1.48–2.05 × 10−2, 0.40–3.25 × 10−2, 1.5–5.5 × 10−3, 3.0–3.1 × 10−3, 8.0–9.0 × 10−4 for Ni, Cd, Cu, Pb, Co, Mn and Zn respectively whereas the hazard index (HI) value of each brand was > 1. Carcinogenic risk (CR) values for Ni were obtained at the threshold level which is alarming when consuming the sauce for a long time.