Marwa Ahmed Ali Kotb1, Mohamed Fawzi Farahat1, 2*, HishamBayoumi El Daree1, NeveenFahmy Mohamed Agamy1
1Department of Nutrition, High Institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Egypt. 2Department of Community Health Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
*Correspondence:Professor Mohamed F. Farahat. Email: [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Background: Infants are the population group most vulnerable to the toxic effects of heavy metals. Exposure to heavy metals during growth and development can result in long-term effects on the health of children. Infant foods are the main source of heavy metals intake by this population, primarily due to contamination of raw materials used and rarely by food processing itself. Monitoring of these elements in infant formula is of considerable health importance in a bid to protect the infants from their acute and chronic toxicity on infants. Objective: To determine the concentration of Lead and Cadmium in infant milk formulas selected from Alexandria, Egypt. Materials and Methods: Fifteen infant milk formulas were collected from three different types sold in pharmacies of Alexandria, Egypt (ordinary, lactose free, and extra care formulas). Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy AA-800 with atomizer flame (AAS), flame conducted by air/acetylene for the furnace was used to detect lead and cadmium in infant milk formulas and their concentrations (ppm). Results: The mean lead contents (ppm) of infant milk formulas ranged from 0.134 ppm in Extra care formulas to 0.332 ppm in Ordinary formulas (brand 3), while cadmium contents ranged from 0.0010 to 0.0038 ppm in ordinary formulas (brand 1) and Extra care formulas; respectively with significant differences in lead and cadmium contents among different types of milk formulas ,P< 0.05. Conclusion: There were significant variations in lead and cadmium contents among different types of infant milk formulas and not all samples complied with acceptable levels lead specified in the Egyptian Standard although cadmium levels complied with EC Regulation by American public Health Association and Indian Standards. No data on lead and cadmium contents was declared on the label of the formulas to compare with their actual contents. Further studies are required to evaluate the heavy metal contents of infant formulas on a greater number of samples and a wider diversity of brands with a need to investigate the sources of their contaminant.
Keywords: : Infant Milk Formula, Heavy Metals,Lead, Cadmium
Citation: Kotb MA, Farahat MF, El-Daree H, Agamy NFM. Lead and Cadmium Contents of Infant Milk Formulas Sold in Alexandria, Egypt. Canad J ClinNutr 2017; 5 (2): 116-128.
DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.14206/canad.j.clin.nutr.2017.02.9
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