Heavy Metals in Alcoholic Beverages Consumed in Awka, South-East Nigeria: Carcinogenic and Non-carcinogenic Health Risk Assessments

Abstract

Consumption of alcoholic beverages has been a long-standing tradition that dates back to the use of fruit-based cereals and vegetable substrates. Selected international, national, and local-based alcoholic beverages (herbal gin, imported red wine, Heineken, imported dry gin, local dry gin, palm wine, Guinness stout, and whisky) were purchased from popular drinking joints in Awka metropolis, Anambra state, Nigeria, where questionnaires were administered to respondents in order to get the actual consumption rate. Using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS), heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mn, Ni, and Zn) were analyzed. Background references from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Organization of Grapes and Wines (IOGW) were used to assess contamination and pollution potential. After determining the average daily intake (ADI) for noncarcinogenesis and carcinogenesis, the hazard index and overall cancer risk were calculated using reference dosage and cancer slope factor. Heavy metal analysis showed that Cu and Zn were found to be the most prevalent in all alcoholic beverages. There are no known health risks as a result of the contamination and pollution potential. Heineken and palm wine were both above 1 on the hazard index, indicating that there were potential health issues. However, cancer risk analysis revealed that all beverages were above the US EPA's recommended range of 1.00E06-1.00E04, implying that cancer-related illness is likely in a population of 1 in 1000 to 10,000 people. As a result, alcoholic beverage manufacturers should strive for continuous improvement in order to avoid public health issues.

Fruit-Based Fermented Beverages: Contamination Sources and Emerging Technologies Applied to Assure Their Safety

“…Cu and Zn were shown to be the most widespread pollutants via process water, manufacturing equipment, and packing devices, according to heavy metal analyses [141].…”

Assessment of Heavy Metals on African Catfish (Clarias gariepinus) from Some Fish Ponds in Emene, Enugu State, South-East Nigeria

“…has been reported by several scholars. For example, the reports of PAHs and heavy metals in air [1][2][3], soil [4][5][6][7], water [8][9][10][11][12], food [13][14][15][16], beverages [17][18][19][20] are well documented.…”

“…Other metals, such as cadmium and lead, have no known essential role in living organisms and are toxic even at low concentrations [25]. In recent years, the need for a better understanding of heavy metal concentration and dispersion patterns in aquatic environments has been highlighted following the discovery of high levels of toxic heavy metals (particularly cadmium and lead) in fish and other living organisms [26,27] and even in water resources [12], beverages [28,29,18,19]. The most significant problem associated with heavy metals in the environment apart from accumulation through the food chain and persistence in nature is their toxicity [30].…”

Assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in alcoholic beverages consumed in Awka, Southeast Nigeria

“…Experiments on ground and surface water [21,22], soil [23,24], aquatic organisms [25,26], food [27,28], air [29] and beer [3,6] amongst others have been conducted due to health concerns about PAHs pollution of these substances and their toxicological concerns. Furthermore, Okafor et al [30] studied heavy metals in alcoholic beverages consumed in Awka, South-East Nigeria and associated carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risk assessments recently. Despite these studies, little or no research has been conducted on the assessment of PAH contamination in alcoholic beverages enjoyed in Awka and its environs.…”