The concentration and health risk assessment of trace elements in commercial soft drinks from Iran marketed

Abstract

ABSTRACT The aim of the present study was to assess the concentration of the trace elements Al, As, Cd, Ba, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, Mn, Fe and Zn in 150 commercial soft drinks marketed of Iran, using inductive couple plasma–optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). The data obtained were compared with the permissible limit set for drinking water by the Codex Alimantarius (CA), United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization (FAO/WHO) and National Standard of Iran (NSI). The highest mean level was 84.11 ± 27.06 μg/L is related to Fe and the lowest was <detection limit to As and Hg. The concentrations of Pb, Ni, Cr, Cu, Ba, Hg, Cd and As in samples were lower than the limit set by USEPA, FAO/WHO, CA and NSI. In contrast, the concentrations of Fe, Al, Mn and Zn soft drink samples were higher than the limit set by USEPA, FAO/WHO, CA and NSI. Monte Carlo simulation results indicated that the trend of potential non-carcinogenic risks in all samples was Cd > Cr > Pb > Ni > Al > Ba. Target hazard quotient index of toxic elements, for adults and children, was considerably lower than the safe risk limits THQ > 1.