Minerals and heavy metals in raw and ultra heat treated commercial milks in Pakistan

Abstract

The study was aimed at assessment of heavy metals in street vended raw and branded milk to identify possible gateways of milk toxicity. 15 samples of processed and 24 of raw milk were collected from Multan city. Atomic absorption spectrometry revealed milk offered for sale in the region to be potentially contaminated with higher levels of some most critical elements i.e. Pb (0.048 – 0.418mgL<sup>-1</sup>), Cd (0.0015 - 0.125 mgL<sup>-1</sup>), Ni (0.044 - 0.294 mgL<sup>-1</sup>), and Cu (0.0037 - 0.273 mgL<sup>-1</sup>). Exceptionally higher levels of Cd (0.102 mgL<sup>-1</sup>) were recovered in street vended raw milk as compared to processed branded milk (0.042 mgL<sup>-1</sup>). The study signified deleterious outcomes of industrial and agricultural revolution parallel to poor phyto-sanitory and sanitary measures during animal feeding and milking. The study suggest comprehensive and nationwide survey to identify the metal polluted red zones, their toxicity levels and milk intoxicating channels either from environment, animal feed or water.

Concentration of heavy metals in pasteurized and sterilized milk and health risk assessment across the globe: A systematic review

“…A total of 48 potentially relevant articles with data on 981 pasteurized and sterilized milk were included in the systematic review. All data were collected from 17 different countries including Iran (13:27%) [ 3 , 5 , 12 , 20 , 23 , 24 , 32 , 36 , 41 , 43 , 48 , 50 , 62 ], Pakistan (6:12.5%) [ 4 , 11 , 42 , 55 , 58 , 63 ], Egypt(5:10%) [ 18 , 40 , 45 , 53 , 56 ], and Brazil (4:8%) [ 22 , 46 , 54 , 64 ] represented the highest number of studies, and the sample size was varied from 5 to 90. Based on results, the first study was conducted in 1993, and 70% of the studies were done in the past five years.…”

“…The standard Pb limit in milk is 0.02 mg/l set by Codex Alimentarius Commission and FAO/WHO standard, and EU [ 74 , 75 ]. In this systematic review, the mean Pb levels in pasteurized and sterilized milk samples are analyzed in 41 studies (85.5% of total studies) from 13 countries Pakistan [ 4 , 11 , 42 , 55 , 58 ], Libya [ 21 , 35 ], Iran [ 3 , 5 , 12 , 20 , 23 , 24 , 32 , 36 , 41 , 43 , 48 , 50 , 62 ], Egypt [ 18 , 40 , 45 , 53 , 56 ], Indonesia [ 33 ], Brazil [ 22 , 46 , 54 , 64 ], China [ 37 , 44 , 49 ], Serbia [ 47 ], North Korea [ 52 ], Romania [ 25 , 38 ], Turkey [ 59 ], Spain [ 65 , 66 ], and India [ 60 ] from 1999 to 2021 ( Table 2 ).…”

“…The average concentration of Pb in pasteurized and sterilized milk samples across globe ranged between 11×10 −5 [ 25 ] and 3.5 mg/ml [ 22 ]. Lead was the most common heavy metal in pasteurized and sterilized milk samples found above permissible limits (0.02 mg/l) [ 74 , 75 ] in 19[46.34%] studies were conducted in Libya [ 21 ], Iran [ 12 , 43 , 62 ], Egypt [ 18 , 40 , 45 , 53 ], Pakistan [ 4 , 42 , 58 ], Brazil [ 22 , 46 , 54 , 64 ], Serbia [ 47 ], Turkey [ 59 ], China [ 37 ] and Spain [ 66 ].…”

Transfer of lead from soil to pasture grass and milk near a metallurgical complex in the Peruvian Andes

“…In Multan, Pakistan, the Pb content in raw and commercial milk was found to be high (0.048–0.418 mg/L), which was attributed to industrial and agricultural mismanagement and inadequate sanitary measures during animal feeding and milking ( Akhtar et al, 2015 ). In China, the average Pb content in raw milk was1.75 μg/L ( Zhou et al, 2018 ); in others studies, the ranges of Pb in milk samples were 0.03–10.46 μg/L ( Zhou et al, 2019 ).…”

“…In the present study, milk contamination with Pb resulted from the accumulation of fine particulate matter emissions from the La Oroya Metallurgical Complex during almost 100 years of operation. Further studies are therefore necessary to identify areas at increased risk of heavy metal contamination based on the recommendations of Akhtar et al (2015) , as well as develop evidence-based guidelines establishing acceptable concentrations of heavy metals in soil, plants, and milk products in Peru.…”