Document Type : Research article
Authors
- Soheyl Eskandari 1, 2
- Paria Miri 3
- Mahsa Karimi Srazameleh 3
- Saeed Aghebat-Bekheir 4
- Bahare Mohamadi 3
1 Food and Drug Laboratory Research Center (FDLRC), General Directorate of Food and Drug and Medical Equipment Control Laboratories, Food and Drug Administration (IR-FDA), Ministry of Health, Medicine and Medical Education (MoH+ME), Tehran, Iran
2 Member of the Research Council of the Research Center for Food Hygiene and Safety, Shahid Sadouqi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
3 Student's Scientific Research Center, Division of Food Safety and Hygiene, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
4 Department of Toxicology & Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
Background and Objective: It is important to investigate unnecessary heavy metals such as lead and cadmium, which can be harmful to humans even at low concentrations. The toxicity of these metals is influenced by factors such as concentration, exposure, and individual characteristics, and may lead to neurological, renal, hormonal, and cancer damage. Given the environmental and health concerns associated with heavy metals in polymer containers used in food packaging, it is crucial to investigate and determine the concentrations of these metals. This study aimed to measure the concentrations of lead and cadmium in 35 polymer container samples from 9 different brands.
Materials & Methods: Polymer containers were digested using food simulant solvents under controlled conditions, and heavy metals were extracted. The concentration of total heavy metals (lead and cadmium) after chemical digestion was measured with an atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS), and the data were analyzed with SPSS version 26.
Results: Statistical analysis of data obtained from the concentration of total lead and cadmium in samples of different polymer containers, where the concentration of total cadmium and lead metals in the samples varied between 0.013 and 0.9305 ppm. The lowest value was observed in two-layer polystyrene containers, and the highest value in single-layer polyethylene containers. The analysis method was validated with international guidelines, and the LOD and LOQ values were in the ranges of 0.0009–0.0176 and 0.0018–0.0582 μg/L, respectively.
Conclusion: The total concentration of cadmium and lead in all the samples was within the range of international standards. However, continuous monitoring and production by national standards are essential to reduce the risk of food contamination and ensure public health safety.
Open Access Policy: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Keywords
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