Lead, Cadmium, and Arsenic in Raw Milk Produced in the Vicinity of a Mini Mineral Concentrator in the Central Andes and Health Risk

Abstract

The bovine milk quality, safety, and security are of great concern mainly due to the dispersion of toxic substances from various anthropogenic activities and poor practices for organophosphates in agriculture use. This study evaluated the potential risk to human health from lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and arsenic (As) from the consumption of milk produced in an area of the Central Andes valley near a mini mineral concentrator by estimating the weekly intake (WI), dietary risk quotient (DRC), hazard quotient (THQ), and hazard index (HI) for the Peruvian population aged 2 to 85 years, in three scenarios of milk consumption by age (minimum, average, and maximum). Toxic element quantification was performed by flame atomic absorption spectrometry following standardized procedures. The mean amount ± standard deviation of Pb, Cd, and As in soils was 292±60.90, 3.54±1.58, and 5.60±2.20 mg/kg, the order of importance being Pb>As>Cd. The contents of Pb, Cd, and As in pastures were 23.17±10.02, 0.25±0.57, and 0.06±0.09 mg/kg, being from highest to lowest Pb>Cd>As. The means of Pb, Cd, and As content in 19 milk samples were 0.029±0.022, 0.007±0.006, and 0.010±0.004 mg/kg. Pb and Cd exceeded the maximum permissible limits (MPL), and the As was below the MPL. At all ages and milk consumption levels, the WI for Pb and Cd were below the estimated tolerable intake (TWI). The WI for As in < 19 years was higher than the TWI. The DRC for Pb and Cd at all three milk intake levels and all ages was < 1, and for As, it was > 1 in < 19 years, being the risk group. The TQH and HI for Pb and Cd were also > 1, signifying no health risk, and for As, the values were > 1 in < 11 years. Our results are valuable for preventing adverse health impacts from safe and innocuous milk consumption.

Concentration of heavy metals in pasteurized and sterilized milk and health risk assessment across the globe: A systematic review

“…In these five studies, As levels are in the safe range and were not reported beyond the local standard limits of the studied countries and EU and FAO/WHO standards. Although the number studies related to measuring As in pasteurized and sterilized milk across the world was so limited; several studies evaluated As concentration in raw cow’s milk which report higher values than ours from Córdoba, Argentina with mean concentration between 0.0003 and 0.0105 mg/kg [ 8 ]; in Iran, in the range of 0.015 to 0.026 mg/kg [ 89 ], in Alabria, Italy, reporting an average As content of 0.038 mg/kg of raw milk, in Slovakia, with mean concentration of As < 0.03 mg/kg [ 8 , 10 ]. All these low concentrations of As in raw cow’s milk and pasteurized and sterilized milk are indicative that As use in the transformation of dairy products is safe for consumer and it does not pose health risks for human consumption.…”

“…It was also evidenced that Cd generally comes from phosphate fertilizers that contain up to 53.2 mg/kg of Cd [ 9 ]. Besides, equipment used in the production and packaging process is the likely other source of contamination [ 8 , 10 ]. The contamination of containers and equipment used in milking and pasteurization processes and environmental contamination were accounted to be among the factors affecting the elevated Cd concentration in the collected milk samples in their study [ 8 , 10 ].…”

“…Unsafe food containing harmful bacteria (Salmonella, Vibrio cholerae, enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli, and Campylobacter), viruses (Hepatitis A), parasites (tapeworms, Ascaris, Cryptosporidium, Giardia, and Entamoeba histolytica) or chemical substances (Persistent organic pollutants, heavy metals, mycotoxins, and radioactive nucleotides) causes more than 200 diseases such as diabetes, respiratory problems, hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, and colorectal and bladder cancer [7][8][9]. It also promotes the immune system, good bone health, and the prevention of dental caries [8,10].…”

Assessing the Health Risk and Trophic Transfer of Lead and Cadmium in Dairy Farming Systems in the Mantaro Catchment, Central Andes of Peru

“…The grass samples were washed with tap water to remove soil particles, rinsed with deionized water [41], dried at 70 • C, and finely ground. The digestion and quantification of heavy metals in vegetative materials was the same as for soils samples and as described in earlier studies [42].…”

“…40 paper, and stored in polypropylene tubes under refrigeration. The procedure followed is detailed in Chirinos et al [42]. The Pb and Cd quantification was carried out in a flame atomic absorption spectrometer (NAMBEI AA320N) following the AOAC 973.35 method, using wavelengths of 283.3 and 228.8 nm for Pb and Cd, respectively [43,44].…”