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Heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn, Ni, Co) in leafy vegetables collected from production sites: their potential health risk to the general population in Shiraz, Iran

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Abstract

Heavy metal contamination of vegetables is a great public health concern. One hundred samples of spinach, dill, cilantro, and cress from the production sites of Shiraz, Iran, and its outskirts were, therefore, examined for lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni), and cobalt (Co) content. The potential health risks of these metals to local residents via the consumption of leafy vegetables were also estimated. The mean concentrations of Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn, Ni, and Co were 3.21, 0.28, 4.55, 40.44, 3.11, and 1.86 mg/kg dry weight, respectively. The Pb level exceeded the permissible limit of 0.3 mg/kg in 44.7% of vegetable samples. The other elements were, however, within FAO/WHO standards. The estimated daily intake (EDI) of Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn, Ni, and Co from leafy vegetables was 0.10, 0.01, 0.14, 1.26, 0.10, and 0.06 μg/kg body weight/day, respectively. At the mean and 97.5 percentile levels, all health risk index (HRI) values were less than the safe limit (< 1). Thus, within the area this study was focused on, leafy vegetables did not make a major contribution to the dietary intake of the elements which could be mainly attributed to the low vegetable consumption by the study population (20 g/day). Nevertheless, the lead content of the vegetables should be viewed with some concern. Regular monitoring of heavy metal contamination of foodstuff is recommended to control the sources of contaminants in the food chain.

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Funding

This study was financially supported by Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (project no. 90-01-42-3117).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food Hygiene and Quality Control, School of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, PO Box 71645-111, Shiraz, Iran

    Samane Rahmdel, Razieh Sefidkar & Seyed Mohammad Mazloomi

  2. Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

    Maryam Rezaei & Jamileh Ekhlasi

  3. Organization of Agriculture-Jihad, Kharame, Fars, Iran

    Seyed Hossein Zarei

  4. Department of Community Nutrition, School of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

    Masoumeh Akhlaghi

  5. Nutrition Research Center, Department of Food Hygiene and Quality Control, School of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

    Masoumeh Akhlaghi & Seyed Mohammad Mazloomi

  6. Department of Clinical Nutrition, School of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

    Seyedeh Maryam Abdollahzadeh

Authors
  1. Samane Rahmdel
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  2. Maryam Rezaei
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  4. Seyed Hossein Zarei
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  5. Masoumeh Akhlaghi
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  6. Seyedeh Maryam Abdollahzadeh
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  7. Razieh Sefidkar
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  8. Seyed Mohammad Mazloomi
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Correspondence to Seyed Mohammad Mazloomi.

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Rahmdel, S., Rezaei, M., Ekhlasi, J. et al. Heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn, Ni, Co) in leafy vegetables collected from production sites: their potential health risk to the general population in Shiraz, Iran. Environ Monit Assess 190, 650 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-018-7042-3

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