Concentration of Heavy Metals in Traditional and Industrial Fruit Juices from Iran: Probabilistic Risk Assessment Study

Fereshteh Mehri; Ali Heshmati; Elaheh Talebi Ghane; Trias Mahmudiono; Yadolah Fakhri

doi:10.1007/s12011-023-04049-5

Concentration of Heavy Metals in Traditional and Industrial Fruit Juices from Iran: Probabilistic Risk Assessment Study

Biol Trace Elem Res. 2024 Jan 8. doi: 10.1007/s12011-023-04049-5. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Fereshteh Mehri¹, Ali Heshmati², Elaheh Talebi Ghane³, Trias Mahmudiono⁴, Yadolah Fakhri⁵

Affiliations

¹ Nutrition Health Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
² Nutrition Health Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran. ali_heshmaati@yahoo.com.
³ Modeling of Noncommunicable Diseases Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
⁴ Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Public Health, Universitas Airlangga, Jl. Mulyorejo Kampus C, Surabaya, 60115, Indonesia.
⁵ Food Health Research Center, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran.

PMID: 38191759
DOI: 10.1007/s12011-023-04049-5

Abstract

Exposure to heavy metals can endanger the health of exposed people in the long term. The consumption of fruit juice is increasing; it is important to estimate the health risk of consumers due to heavy metals. The current study was carried out for the analysis of toxic metals (lead (Pb), arsenic (As), and cadmium (Cd)) and essential elements (copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn)) in 60 samples of traditional and industrial fruit juices (10 samples of different brands of apple, orange, grape, peach, mango, and pineapple) in Hamadan, West Iran, using inductivity coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) method. The validation protocol included precision of the analytical method; recovery, the determination of the limit of detection (LOD), the limit of quantification (LOQ), and linearity were measured. Moreover, risk assessment was detected using target hazard quotient (THQ) and cancer risk (CR) by the Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) model. The ranking of metal concentration in traditional and industrial fruit juices was Zn > Cu > As > Pb > Cd. In all samples, concentrations of heavy metals in industrial fruit juices were higher than traditional fruit juices p < < 0.001. The level of metals in all samples was lower of the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Iran Standard (IS) permissible limit set for drinking water. In terms of non-carcinogenic, values of toxic elements for children and adult in traditional and industrial fruit juices were 1.6E-3 and 1.72E-3 and 2.6E-3 and 1.85E-3, respectively. The 95th percentile of CR in adults and children due to both industrial and traditional fruits juices was higher than 1E-6; hence, reducing the concentration of As in fruit juices should be conducted. Consumption of fruit juice can increase carcinogenic risk of consumers. Therefore, it is recommended to consume it with caution.

Keywords: Food safety; Fruit juices; Health risk; ICP-OES; Metal.