Food Safety Analysis of Milk and Beef in Southwestern Uganda

Abstract

Background Inorganic pollutants in milk and beef are of major public health concern; however, information in Africa is still limited due to low food safety monitoring practices. In this study, we established levels of lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), and iron (Fe) in milk and beef and obtained the estimated daily intake (EDI) and incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) as measures of risk to the Ugandan population. Materials and Methods This was a cross-sectional study in which a total of 40 samples of milk and beef were collected from Bushenyi district in southwestern Uganda. Samples were analyzed by atomic absorbance spectrophotometer, and the EDI and ILCR were computed using the US EPA reference values. Results and Discussion Heavy metal concentrations were highest in the order of Zn > Fe > Pb > Cu in milk samples, while in beef samples, concentrations were highest in the order of Zn > Pb > Fe > Cu and no Cd was detected. Furthermore, beef had significantly higher (P < 0.05) Pb and Fe concentrations than milk. The EDI was highest in children, and this was followed by very high ILCR levels, showing that milk and beef are not safe for children in Uganda. Bearing in mind that a high HI was shown, beef and milk from these regions are not recommended for consumption especially by children although more studies remain to be conducted. Conclusion Heavy metals in milk and beef of Uganda may predispose the indigenous community to cancer and other health-related illnesses, showing a need for improved food safety screening to promote food safety.

Inorganic pollutants in edible grasshoppers (Ruspolia nitidula) of Uganda and their major public health implications

“…Working standards of 0.2 ppm, 0.5 ppm, 1 ppm, 2 ppm, and 5 ppm were prepared from a stock solution of 1000 ppm (Pb, Cd, Cr, and Zn). Standard curves were generated as described previously 14 , and these were used to determine the concentration of the inorganic compounds in each sample.…”

“…This was done using methods as previously described 14 where the Estimated Daily Intake (EDI) was calculated using the equation below: EDI = (C x IR) / BW where, C = concentration of the metal (mg/kg), IR = ingestion (g/kg) rate for grasshoppers in each region were got after calculating quantity eaten each day. The IR was calculated using the questionnaire from which amount eaten per day was calculated since there was no available epidemiological data on this in Uganda.…”

“…The CSF was defined as the risk produced by a lifetime average dose of 1 ppm/BW/day and its contaminant specific. For Pb, Zn, Cr, and Cd, the corresponding CSFs used are 0.0085; 0.0001; 41 and 6.3 ppm/day, thus the ILCR was calculated for each metal using this equation: ILCR = CDI * CSF where CDI is the chronic daily intake of chemical (mg/kg/day) and it represents the lifetime average daily dose of exposure to a chemical 14 . CDI = (EDI * EFr * EDtot)/AT where, EDI was the estimated daily intake of a metal; EFr was exposure frequency (365 days/year); EDtot was the exposure duration 58.65 years (lifetime average for Ugandans; and AT = was the period of exposure for non-carcinogenic effects, and 70 year lifetime for carcinogenic effects (i.e.…”

“…In addition, attention has been placed on fish associated with the fresh water lakes of Uganda 10,11 . Heavy metal load in livestock products of Uganda have been shown to have higher than the recommended levels, thus posing a major public health risk [12][13][14] . This means that animal products from Uganda still have a hurdle in accessing international markets, and this continues to be complicated by a lack of continuous surveillance data on major food products.…”

Study of quality indicators for meat raw materials and the effectiveness of a protective technological method under conditions of different content of heavy metals in a pig diet

“…At present, in the world there are the zones, in which the content of heavy metals in soil, water and plants exceeds the established norms, and the increased content of cadmium and lead in meat and dairy products has been revealed by many studies [14,15]. That is why manufacturers of livestock production must minimize the risk of its contamination.…”