Analysis of Some Heavy Metals in Selected Snacks Available in The Federal Capital Territory (Fct) - Abuja, Nigeria

ABSTRACT

 The analysis of macro and trace elements in selected snacks available in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nigeria showed varied concentrations of the essential elements (Fe, Cu, Ni, Zn, Mg, Ca, K, Na, Mn, Cr) and non-essential elements (Pb, Cd, Hg, Co) in the fifteen different samples (Meat-pie, Bread, Cake, Doughnut, Scotched egg, Sausage, Samosa, Spring Roll, Scones, Egg Roll, Akara, Buns, Okpa, Fish Roll, Chicken pie) analyzed. Potassium and Sodium were determined using Flame Photometer (FP) while Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (FAAS) was used to determine the rest of the elements. A wet digestion method using trioxonitrate V acid (HN03) and tetraoxochlorate VII (HCI04) was used to digest the samples. The mean concentrations of K, Na, Ca, Mg, Zn, Cu, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cd, Pb, Hg, were 28066.67, 1800.00, 1117.76, 634.66, 21.93, 4.11, 3.52, 12.45, 65.11, 1.49, 1.38, 6.61, 97.61 and 3.86mglkg respectively. The values of the essential metals were within the WHO-required dietary allowance (RDA). Conversely, all the values of lead and some values of cadmium, cobalt, and mercury were above the WHO minimum risk level (MRL). The daily intake of the snack samples was calculated based on an assumed average body weight of 70kg consuming 50g of snacks daily. These values when compared with the WHO MRL values showed ACUTE EFFECTS for lead, cadmium, cobalt and mercury while the WHO RDA values for all the other elements analyzed showed NO EFFECT. The concentration values these metals analyzed in this study were also compared with values from other parts of the world. Correlation analysis of the metals gave clear pictures of the dependency variables among them.