Abstract
The intake of heavy metals through food consumption is a food safety problem that severely impacts the health of consumers, so information about food intake and heavy metal concentrations in food products is required to estimate the potential risk to the health of the population. The main purpose of this study was to estimate the potential risks to human health from exposure to Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn through the intake of Malus domestica Golden Delicious consumed in the Mexican southeast, considering the age group and gender. The concentration of each of the metals was quantified by spectrometry of atomic absorption (AAE) and the daily intake of metals (DIM) and health risk indices through the consumption of apple: health risk index (HRI), total health risk index (THRI), target hazard coefficient (THQ) and the probability of carcinogenic risk (CR) were estimated. The concentrations of the metals analyzed in the apple samples showed the following decreasing order: Zn ≥ Ni ≥ Cu ≥ Pb ≥ Cd. The DIM values showed the following decreasing order: child > young adult > adoescent > elders. The health risk assessments (HRI, THRI, THQ and CR) obtained from the samples of Golden Delicious apples are located within the acceptable and/or tolerable limits, however, the increase in the intake of heavy metals through consumption of apples from establishments in the study area or the consumption of various foods contaminated with heavy metals may increase the health risk potential of consumers. For this reason, it is recommended to carry out studies on the concentration of heavy metals in food products, mainly those of greater popular consumption, to guarantee food security of the population.
Highlights
The consumption of contaminated food with heavy metals is one of the main routes of human exposure to these pollutants [1]
The concentration of each of the metals was quantified by spectrometry of atomic absorption (AAE) and the daily intake of metals (DIM) and health risk indices through the consumption of apple: health risk index (HRI), total health risk index (THRI), target hazard coefficient (THQ) and the probability of carcinogenic risk (CR) were estimated
The ingestion of heavy metals through the consumption of food is a problem of food safety that has important implications for human health, so heavy metals contained in Malus domestica Golden Delicious marketed in the Mexican southeast were investigated
Summary
The consumption of contaminated food with heavy metals is one of the main routes of human exposure to these pollutants [1]. The accumulation of heavy metals in food represents a potential risk to the health of consumers. There are reports that heavy metals found in soil can be absorbed by plants and remain in their tissues [3], accumulating in food crops, contaminating the entire food chain [4]. Due to its physicochemical characteristics, non-biodegradability, bioaccumulation and biotoxicity [5], heavy metals can be toxic to the health of plants, animals and humans [6], causing in people serious issues, such as genomic instability, endocrine disruption, neurotoxicity, carcinogenicity, mutagenesis, teratogenesis, immunological problems and deteriorated psychosocial behavior [7] [8].
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