Safety Evaluation of Potential Toxic Metals Exposure from Street Foods Consumed in Mid-West Nigeria

Abstract

Objective. Street-vended foods offer numerous advantages to food security; nevertheless, the safety of street food should be considered. This study has investigated the level of potential toxic metal (Pb, Cd, Hg, Sb, Mn, and Al) contamination among street-vended foods in Benin City and Umunede. Methods. Twenty street food samples were purchased from vendors at bus stops. Metals were analyzed with atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The methods developed by the US EPA were employed to evaluate the potential health risk of toxic metals. Results. The concentrations of the toxic metals in mg/kg were in the range of Pb (0.014–1.37), Cd (0.00–0.00017), Hg (0.00–0.00014), Sb (0.00–0.021), Mn (0.00–0.012), and Al (0.00–0.22). All the toxic metals except Pb were below permissible limit set by WHO, EU, and USEPA. The daily intake, hazard quotient, and hazard index of all toxic metals except for Pb in some street foods were below the tolerable daily intake and threshold value of 1, indicating an insignificant health risk. Total cancer risk was within the priority risk level of 1.0E − 04 but higher than the acceptable risk level of 1E − 06. Conclusion. Consumption of some of these street foods is of public health concern.

The Hazardous Level of Heavy Metals in Different Medicinal Plants and Their Decoctions in Water: A Public Health Problem in Brazil

“…ED is the exposure duration (years); in this study, 30 years for adults. Bw is the body weight (kg); in this study, 70 kg for adults [27]. e AT is the averaging time for noncarcinogens (period over which the exposure is averaged (days)); in this study, AT � ED × 90 days � 2700 days [21].…”

Health Risk Assessment for Carcinogenic and Non Carcinogenic Heavy Metal Exposure from Hibiscus Leaf Cultivated in Katsina State, North West Nigeria

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Safety of honey consumed in Enugu State, Nigeria: a public health risk assessment of lead and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

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“…The extraction of PAHs from the 0.50 g honey samples was done using a mixture of acetone and methylene chloride (50:50 ratio) spiked with 1 ml of PAH internal standard and shaken thoroughly for proper mixing before placing in an ultrasonic bath. [12,13,14]. The EPA-16 PAHs determination was conducted at Jaros Inspection Services Limited, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria using Gas Chromatographic System (6890 series and 6890 plus) equipped with a dual detector (FID-ECD), dual column and TriPlus AS auto-sampler with helium carrier gas based on the United State Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) method 8100 (EPA 1984).…”

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