Impact of source, packaging and presence of food safety management system on heavy metals levels in spices and herbs

Impact of source, packaging and presence of food safety management system on heavy metals levels in spices and herbs

Spices and herbs are susceptible to various contaminants, including heavy metals. Our study aimed to quantify the levels of lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), cadmium (As), and cadmium (Cd) in 96 composite samples of 13 herbs and spices frequently consumed in Lebanon. Twenty percent (19/96) and 4% (4/96) of t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one Vol. 19; no. 8; p. e0307884
Main Authors: Moussa, Layale, Hassan, Hussein F, Savvaidis, Ioannis N, Karam, Layal
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States Public Library of Science 23-08-2024
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Subjects:
Acids
Agriculture
Cadmium
Cadmium - analysis
Cancer
Contaminants
Food
Food contamination
Food contamination & poisoning
Food Contamination - analysis
Food Packaging
Food research
Food Safety
Food sources
Heavy metals
Herbs
Humans
International economic relations
International organizations
Lead
Lead - analysis
Lebanon
Mercury
Mercury (metal)
Mercury - analysis
Metal industry
Metals, Heavy - analysis
Microwaves
Packaged food
Packaging
Pesticides
Safety and security measures
Safety management
Spices
Spices - analysis
Testing
Lebanon
Europe
Germany
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Summary:Spices and herbs are susceptible to various contaminants, including heavy metals. Our study aimed to quantify the levels of lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), cadmium (As), and cadmium (Cd) in 96 composite samples of 13 herbs and spices frequently consumed in Lebanon. Twenty percent (19/96) and 4% (4/96) of the samples exceeded the permissible levels of Pb and Cd, respectively and all the samples met the permissible levels of As and Hg according to Codex Alimentarius standards. For Pb and Cd, unpackaged samples had the highest levels of unacceptable samples of 31% (8/26) and 8% (2/26), respectively. The samples locally packaged in companies with and without Food Safety Management System (FSMS) had the same levels of unacceptable samples of 12% (3/26) and 4% (1/26) for Pb and Cd, respectively. Imported packaged samples had unacceptable levels of Pb (28% (5/18)) and were acceptable for the three other heavy metals.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
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ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0307884