Abstract
Nowadays, there is a growing concern about contamination of toxic metals (TM) in pet food due to the great potential for health risks of these elements. TM concentrations in commercial pet foods (n = 100) as well as in ingredients used in their composition (n = 100) were analyzed and compared to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) maximum tolerable level (MTL), and the TM concentrations found in the different sources of carbohydrate, protein, and fat were compared. The TM concentrations were determined by inductively coupled plasma with optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Concentrations above the MTL for aluminum, mercury, lead, uranium, and vanadium were observed in both dog and cat foods, and the percentage of dog foods that exceeded the MTL of these TM were: 31.9%; 100%; 80.55%; 95.83%; and 75%, respectively, and in cat foods: 10.71%; 100%; 32.14%; 85.71%; 28.57%, respectively. The MTL values of these TMs and the mean values in dog foods (mg/kg dry matter basis) (MTL [mean ± standard deviation]) were: aluminum: 200 (269.17 ± 393.74); mercury: 0.27 (2.51 ± 1.31); lead: 10 (12.55 ± 4.30); uranium: 10 (76.82 ± 28.09); vanadium: 1 (1.35 ± 0.69), while in cat foods were: aluminum: 200 (135.51 ± 143.95); mercury: 0.27 (3.47 ± 4.31); lead: 10 (9.13 ± 5.42); uranium: 10 (49.83 ± 29.18); vanadium: 1 (0.81 ± 0.77). Dry foods presented higher concentrations of most TM (P < 0.05) than wet foods (P < 0.05). Among the carbohydrate sources, there were the highest levels of all TM except cobalt, mercury, and nickel in wheat bran (P < 0.05), while among the protein sources, in general, animal by-products had higher TM concentrations than plant-based ingredients. Pork fat had higher concentrations of arsenic, mercury, and antimony than fish oil and poultry fat. It was concluded that the pet foods evaluated in this study presented high concentrations of the following TM: aluminum, mercury, lead, uranium, and vanadium.
Highlights
Toxic metals contamination is a current concern worldwide due to its toxicity, intrinsic persistence, non-biodegradable nature, and cumulative characteristics[1,2]
There are several studies conducted in different countries that have found toxic metal contamination with a wide range of concentrations in various types of food intended for humans such as fish, rice, vegetables, dried fruits, meat, quail meat, and bovine tissues[9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20]
The metals Cr, Hg, Sb, Fe, and Sn were detected in all samples analyzed (Table 5)
Summary
Toxic metals contamination is a current concern worldwide due to its toxicity, intrinsic persistence, non-biodegradable nature, and cumulative characteristics[1,2]. The soil is the most important environmental compartment and functions as a deposit for these elements, and can suffer contamination through several sources such as agricultural fertilizers; soil correctives; agrochemicals; irrigation water, sewage sludge, and other waste; atmospheric deposition of industrial sources; and urban emissions[8]. This contamination can reach areas of agricultural production and farm animals, which can have their products and by-products used in the manufacture of pet foods. The pet food industry has diversified the variety of its products, with different types of ingredients, such as additives to reduce fecal odor and alternative sources of protein and carbohydrate, like vegan or grain-free diets; and processing methods, such as wet foods, which may include cheaper ingredients of lower quality and can result in the introduction of several contaminants, such as pesticides, mycotoxins, and toxic metals[38,39]
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