Heavy Metals in Selected Vegetables from Markets of Faisalabad, Pakistan

Iqbal SZ 1 , Ullah Z 2 , Asi MR 3 , Jinap S 4 , Ahmad MN 2 , Sultan MT 5 Show all authors , Malik N 6

Affiliations 

  • 1 1 Department of Plant Biology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901-8520, USA
  • 2 2 Department of Applied Chemistry, Government College University Faisalabad, 38000, Pakistan
  • 3 3 Food Toxicology Lab, Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology (NIAB), Faisalabad-38950, Pakistan
  • 4 4 Institute of Tropical Agriculture and Food Security, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, 43400, Malaysia
  • 5 6 Institute of Food Science and Nutrition, BZU, Multan, Pakistan
  • 6 7 Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, New York University, New York, New York 10003, USA
J Food Prot, 2018 May;81(5):806-809.
PMID: 29637809 DOI: 10.4315/0362-028X.JFP-17-256

Abstract

Two hundred ten samples of selected vegetables (okra, pumpkin, tomato, potato, eggplant, spinach, and cabbage) from Faisalabad, Pakistan, were analyzed for the analysis of heavy metals: cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), arsenic (As), and mercury (Hg). Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry was used for the analysis of heavy metals. The mean levels of Cd, Pb, As, and Hg were 0.24, 2.23, 0.58, and 7.98 mg/kg, respectively. The samples with Cd (27%), Pb (50%), and Hg (63%) exceeded the maximum residual levels set by the European Commission. The mean levels of heavy metals found in the current study are high and may pose significant health concerns for consumers. Furthermore, considerable attention should be paid to implement comprehensive monitoring and regulations.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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