Heavy Metal Concentration and Human Health Risk Assessment of Selected Brands of Seasoning Powder Sold in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Abstract

Seasoning powders are frequently used to enhance the taste, aroma, color and overall acceptability of food by consumers. Different brands of seasoning powder are frequently consumed without adequate human health risk assessment of the heavy metals constituents in them. This study was conducted to determine the heavy metal concentration in four (4) brands of seasoning powder (SP1, SP2, SP3 and SP4) sold in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Ten (10) heavy metals (As, Cr, Ni, Pb, Cd, Fe, Co, Cu, Mn and V) were analyzed by standard methods using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (Model: GBC 908PBMT). Human Health Risk Assessment of heavy metals in the seasoning powders, taken in through ingestion route, was evaluated by computing the Estimated Daily Intake (EDI), Hazard Quotient (HQ), Hazard Index (HI) and Cancer Risk (CR) based on adult human model variables provided by United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). The results showed that mean concentration of Pb and Cd were 6.35 ± 1.07 mg/kg and 0.53 ± 0.09 mg/kg respectively which are above the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO) Maximum Permissible Limit (MPL) of 5.0 mg/kg and 0.3 mg/kg respectively. Concentration of Fe, Co, Cu, Mn, and V were below the MPL and As and Cr were not detected in all the samples assessed.EDI for the measured heavy metals were less than the tolerable limits specified by USEPA. The HQ and HI values were within acceptable range of <1 except for SP2 with HI value of 1.04. The results obtained for CR were above the specified acceptable range of 1.0 x10-6 to1.0 x 10-4. These results suggest possible health concerns associated with the consumption of these seasoning powders in the long term. Strict and systematic surveillance of heavy metals such as Pb and Cd in commonly consumed seasoning powder should be done to ensure safety and quality of the seasoning powders sold in Nigeria. Keywords: Seasoning powder, Heavy metals, Bio-toxicity, Hazard index, Cancer risk.