Determination of some Heavy Metals in Chilled Meat Sold in Tripoli City, Libya
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63359/0891ds22Keywords:
Food Safety, Heavy metals, Chilled meatAbstract
Heavy metal detection in foods, particularly meat, is important for both nutritional reasons and consumer safety. The present study investigated the content of lead, cadmium, cupper, and zinc in chilled meat. The red meat included the muscle, liver, and kidneys of cows, sheep, and camels. The white meat included the muscle and liver of chickens. Sixty-six samples were collected from meat markets in Tripoli, Libya. An atomic absorption spectrophotometer was used to determine heavy metal concentrations. Data were analyzed by the SAS program. The results showed the concentrations of lead range from 0.0020 to 0.1033 mg/kg, and the concentrations of cadmium range from 0.0074 to 0.0947 mg/kg. Also, the results showed that cupper concentrations were below detected limit (BDL) mg/kg in all types of meat except the liver of cows, sheep, and camels, where copper concentrations ranged from 42 to 100 mg/kg. For zinc, the concentration ranges from BDL to 34 mg/kg in muscles, BDL to 34 mg/kg in the livers, and 28 to 34 mg/kg in the kidneys. In general, the concentrations of all polluted and essential elements in the selected meat organs of selected animals did not exceed the permissible maximum level by health authorities
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