In this study, cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni), and lead (Pb) contents were analyzed in sixteen banana composite samples from different commercial establishments from eleven Ecuadorian production provinces using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The concentrations (fresh weight) in the samples collected (9.3–47.3 μg·kg−1 for Cd, 16.1–105.6 μg·kg−1 for Ni, and 36.9–538.0 μg·kg−1 for Pb) were used to calculate the estimated daily intake (EDI), target hazard quotient (THQ), and target carcinogenic risk (CR) associated with dietary exposure to these potentially toxic metals. Cd and Ni results showed that every sample had EDIs lower than the oral reference dose and THQ values lower than 1, demonstrating that there was no non-carcinogenic risk related to the exposure to Cd and Ni. In the case of Pb, two EDIs results were higher than the reference dose, also their corresponding THQ values were higher than 1. The lead CR in all samples was less than 1 × 10−4, the upper limit used for acceptable cancer risk. Thus, there is no significant health risk to the consumer associated with bananas with contamination levels of Cd, Ni, but there is Pb risk for toddlers (12 kg of body weight) intake comparable to the one detected in the present study.

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Graphical abstract In most of the samples, each individual metal content does not overpass the FAO/WHO threshold limits, nevertheless 25 % of the tomato samples were near or exceeded the Pb threshold value. The total metals content suggests that there is an important contamination in tomatoes and lettuces commercialized in the markets from Central and South zones of the DMQ. In addition, the organic products analyzed have an alarming metal content that should be considered.

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