Health risk assessment of some selected heavy metals in infant food sold in Wa, Ghana

Abstract

Infants remain a high-risk group as far as exposure to toxic metals is concerned. The levels of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr), antimony (Sb), mercury (Hg), and arsenic (As) in twenty-two (22) samples of baby foods and formulas were determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The concentrations in (mg/kg) of As, Cd, Cr, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Sb were in the ranges 0.006–0.057, 0.043–0.064, 0.113–0.33, 0.000–0.002, 1.720–3.568, 0.065–0.183, 0.061–0.368 and 0.017–0.1 respectively. Health risk assessment indices like the Estimated Daily Intake (EDI), Target Hazard Quotient (THQ), Cancer Risk (CR) and Hazard Index (HI) were calculated. EDI values of Hg, Cr, and As were below their recommended tolerable daily intake, that of Ni and Mn were lower in 95% of samples, and Cd was also lower in 50% of the samples. THQ values for As, Cd, Cr, Hg, Mn, Ni, and Pb were 0.32–3.21, 0.75–1.10, 0.65–1.94, 0.00–0.37, 0.21–0.44, 0.08–0.12 and 0.26–1.13 respectively. The CR values were greater than 10−6, making them unacceptable for human consumption. HI values were between 2.68 and 6.83 (greater than 1), which implied that these metals are likely to pose non-carcinogenic health risks to infants.