Lead and Cadmium in meat and meat products consumed by a Spanish population (Tenerife Island, Spain)

Dailos González-Weller (1) , Linda Karlsson (2) , Amaranto Caballero (3) , Francisco Hernández (2, 4) , Angel Gutiérrez (1) , Tomás González-Iglesias (5) , Marino Marino (6) , Arturo Hardisson (1)

1 Toxicology
2 ULL - Universidad de La Laguna [Tenerife - SP]
3 Área de Toxicología
4 La Laguna University
5 Seguridad Alimentaria
6 Laboratorio

The aim of this study was to determine the levels of lead and cadmium in chicken, pork, beef, lamb and turkey samples (both meat and meat products), collected in the island of Tenerife (Spain). The levels of lead and cadmium were measured by GFAAS. The mean concentrations of lead and cadmium in the chicken meat samples were 6.94 and 1.68 ìg kg-1 respectively; 5.00 and 5.49 ìg kg-1 in the pork meat samples; 1.91 and 1.90 ìg kg-1 in the beef meat samples and 1.35 as well as 1.22 ìg kg-1 in the lamb meat samples. Lead was below the detection limit in the turkey samples and their mean cadmium concentration was 5.49 ìg kg-1. The mean concentrations of lead and cadmium in the chicken meat products samples were 3.16 and 4.15 ìg kg-1 respectively; 4.89 and 6.50 ìg kg-1 in the pork meat products samples; 6.72 and 4.76 ìg kg-1 in the beef meat products samples and 9.12 and 5.98 ìg kg-1 in the turkey meat products samples. The contribution, in %, of the two considered metals to the PTWIs (Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake), was calculated for meat and meat products. A statistical analysis of the differences in lead and cadmium concentrations was, also, carried out. Significant differences were found for the lead content in meats between the chicken and pork groups and the turkey and beef groups, whereas regarding the cadmium concentrations measured in meats, significant differences were observed between the turkey and the chicken, beef and lamb groups. In meat products, no clear differences were observed for lead and cadmium between the various considered groups.

Mots clés: Life Sciences

Dailos González-Weller, Linda Karlsson, Amaranto Caballero, Francisco Hernández, Angel Gutiérrez, et al.. Lead and Cadmium in meat and meat products consumed by a Spanish population (Tenerife Island, Spain). Food Additives and Contaminants, 2006, 23 (08), pp.757-763. ⟨10.1080/02652030600758142⟩. ⟨hal-00577600⟩