Heavy Metals and Microbial Contents of Roadside Roasted Corn and Plantain

Abstract

In Nigeria, West Africa, it is common practice to eat roasted food as snacks without being mindful of the health implications from the environment where it is roasted. This research work evaluated the level of heavy metals and microbial contents in roadside roasted corn and plantain from three locations in the Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State. Heavy metals and microbial concentration of 18 samples were analyzed using the Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS) and Standard Microbiological Techniques (SMT). The average concentration of heavy metals in all the samples ranged between 0.45 – 1.40mg/g, 2.45 – 4.80mg/g, 3.20 – 14.05mg/g and 9.95–18.05mg/g for copper, zinc, iron, and magnesium respectively. Furthermore, samples from heavy traffic areas had average concentration range of between 0 – 58.40mg/g and 0 – 1.95mg/g for lead and cadmium respectively. Most of the values are higher than World Health Organization permissible limits. The average microbial load of the samples ranged between 250×10−3 – 800×10−3 Cfu. Samples from locations close to refuse dumpsite had the highest microbial content. Four micro organisms isolated from the samples are Escheriachia coli, Bacillus species, Neurospora species and Aspergillus niger. These findings indicate that roadside roasted food are contaminated by the polluted environment which make them not healthy for human consumption.