Presence of radionuclides and toxic elements in feedstuffs and food of animal origin

Abstract

Introduction. The aim of this study was to determine the content of radionuclides and toxic elements in samples feedstuffs and food of animal origin collected between 2007-2017 from two suburban areas of Belgrade, the municipalities of Palilula and Surčin, both areas with intensive agricultural production. Materials and Methods. Radionuclides (40 K and 137 Cs) and toxic elements (As, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) were determined in samples of corn, hay, meat, milk and eggs, by gamma ray spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma spectrometry (ICP-OES, Spectro Genesis). Results and Conclusions. The obtained results showed that natural 40 K was present in all investigated samples. The average activity concentration of 40 K was 94 Bq/kg in corn, 117 Bq/kg, 108 Bq/kg and 95 Bq/kg in beef, pork and chicken meat, respectively, as well as 61 Bq/kg in cow's milk and 48 Bq/kg in eggs. Anthropogenic radionuclide 137 Cs was not detected. The trend for toxic element levels according to the average concentrations found in the studied feed samples (corn and hay) was as follows: Zn>Cu>Pb>As>Ni>Cd. Arsenic was detected in animal feed in both Belgrade municipalities, with the average concentration being 1.08 mg/kg (0.5-1.37 mg/kg), and in corn, the As content was higher than in hay samples. In food of animal origin, only Zn and Cu were detected. It is concluded that the presence of radionuclides and toxic elements in feedstuffs and foods of animal origin does not pose a health risk for either humans or animals.

Toxic elements in eggs and egg‐based products: occurrence, exposure assessment and risk characterisation for the Serbian population

“…Our results showed a lower As content compared with data from Italy, 0.007 mg kg −1 (Esposito et al ., 2016); from Bangladesh, 0.3 mg kg −1 (Shaheen et al ., 2016); and Iran, 0.029, 0.056 mg kg −1 (Hashemi et al ., 2018). From 2000 to 2017, the mean As level in eggs from Belgrade, Serbia, was below the limit of detection (Mitrovic et al ., 2019). The mean Cd level was lower than that observed in home‐produced eggs (0.30 mg kg −1 ) and in eggs from local farms (0.82 mg kg −1 ) from Bosnia and Herzegovina (Vehab et al ., 2019).…”