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Heavy metals in common food items in Kolkata, India

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Abstract

An assessment of heavy metal contamination in rice, red lentil, spice (Cumin), locally made snack (biscuit), leafy vegetable (red spinach), fish, chicken and medicinal herb (Tulsi) sampled from 20 street side market locations in Kolkata, India, was done. The mean metal concentrations in all the food items decreased in the order of Fe > Zn > Mn > Pb > Cu > Cr > Ni > As. The range (in mg kg−1) of the mean values exhibited by the eight metals was 0.03–2.52 (As), 1.04–17.05 (Cu), 5.97–146.07 (Fe), 0.90–4.42(Cr), 1.00–57.14 (Mn), 0.74–4.48 (Ni), 3.87–52.95 (Zn) and 5.17–32.11 (Pb). The health risk assessment from the consumption of metal contaminated food items revealed that except for Pb, the daily intake of As, Cu, Cr, Mn and Zn was found to be within the prescribed maximum tolerable daily intake values. The cancerous risk (CR) value for As ranged from 3.05E−06 to 5.537E−03 while for Pb it was from 2.99E−06 to 9.89E−04. The CR values were found to be above the threshold values of 10E−04 (As) and 10E−06 (Pb) in the case of rice, vegetable, fish and chicken.

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Acknowledgements

The research project (RP/CHQMIV/2014/115) which contributed to this work was funded by the Geological Survey of India in April 2014. The authors would like to thank the Deputy Director Generals of Mission IV and Chemistry of the Geological Survey of India, Kolkata, respectively, for their kind permission to publish.

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  1. Geochronology and Isotope Geology Division, Geological Survey of India, 15 A & B Kyd Street, Kolkata, 700016, India

    Avijit Das

  2. Central Chemical Laboratory, Geological Survey of India, 15 A & B Kyd Street, Kolkata, 700016, India

    Anindya Das

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  1. Avijit Das
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  2. Anindya Das
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Correspondence to Avijit Das.

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Das, A., Das, A. Heavy metals in common food items in Kolkata, India. Euro-Mediterr J Environ Integr 3, 1 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41207-017-0039-4

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