Shellfish is considered as important source for high quality protein, polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals. The present study aimed to study the incidence of four heavy metals including lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), zinc (Zn), and copper (Cu) in four of the shellfish including shrimp, crab, oyster, and mussels. Moreover, the dietary intakes and the potential non-carcinogenic human health risks were calculated for Egyptian consumers. The obtained results revealed that shrimps had the lowest residual concentrations for both Pb, and Cd; whereas mussels had the highest Pb content, while oyster had the highest Cd content. The high content of heavy metals in the examined shellfish indicates the contamination of their living environment with heavy metals. The inter-species differences in their accumulation of heavy metals indicate their physiological differences their xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes. All examined shellfish had considerable concentrations of Cu, and Zn suggesting that these species can provide humans with part of their needs for these essential trace elements. Calculation of the potential non-carcinogenic risks for the tested metals associated with the consumption of shellfish indicated that the average consumption of these shellfish would not pose any risks for the Egyptian population.

Bovine meat and dairy-products are among the important sources for animal-derived protein, vitamins, and minerals. Meat and dairy products can be contaminated during processing, distribution, and storage, and can be implicated in the transmission of many foodborne pathogens world-wide. This study was undertaken to investigate the microbiological status of some bovine meat products (beef mince, sausage, luncheon, and basterma), and some dairy products (raw milk, dried milk powder, yoghurt, and kariesh cheese) retailed in the food markets in in Zagazig city, Egypt. Evaluation of the sanitary status of these products were done via estimation of total bacterial count (TBC), total psychrophilic count (TPsC), coliforms count, total Staphylococci count (TSC) and total mold count (TMC). A trial for improvement of the microbiological status of the beef mince was conducted using acetic and lactic acids at different concentrations. The achieved results indicated unsatisfactory sanitary status of the examined products in the present study, in terms of high microbial counts. A clear and significant reduction for the microbial load was achieved after treatment of the beef mince with acetic and lactic, particularly at 2%.