The preliminary survey on the concentration of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in salt samples collected from Tehran, Iran: a probabilistic health risk assessment.

The present study aimed to assess the potentially toxic elements (PTEs), including copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), arsenic (As), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg) in refined, rock, and sea salt samples collected (n=60) from Tehran's local market by the aid of an inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Besides, the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks for children and adults were estimated with the aid of the Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) method. The rank order of PTEs in refined salt was Pb (13.378 µg/g) > Cu (6.448 µg/g) > Zn (0.363 µg/g) > As (0.184 µg/g) > Hg (0.049 µg/g); in sea salt was Pb (22.972 µg/g) > Cu (3.963 µg/g) > Zn (0.986 µg/g) > As (0.387 µg/g) > Hg (0.224 µg/g); and in rock salt was Cu (31.622 µg/g) > Pb (22.527 µg/g) > Zn (0.638 µg/g) > As (0.235 µg/g) > Hg (0.095 µg/g). It was concluded that the average concentration of some of the investigated PTEs was higher than the national standard limits and Codex's guidelines. A significant non-carcinogenic risk (TTHQ > 1), except for adult consumers, was noted based on the health risk assessment who consume refined salt. All consumers were also at the threshold carcinogenic risk of As (between 10-4 and 10-6). Given the considerable health risks due to consumption (refined, rock, and sea salt), approaching effective monitoring plans to control the PTEs concentrations in salt distributed in Tehran are recommended.

The concentration and prevalence of ochratoxin A in coffee and coffee-based products: A global systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression.

The current investigation was aimed to estimate the prevalence and concentration of ochratoxin A (OTA) in different types of coffee and coffee-based products with the aid of a systematic review and meta-analysis. Therefore, the recommended databases including PubMed, Scopus, and Embase from Jan 1983 to Oct 2018 were screened to retrieve the related citations. In this regard, among 1041 explored articles in the identification step, thirty six articles with 3182 samples were included in the meta-analysis and meta-regression. According to findings, the global pooled concentration and prevalence of OTA was calculated as 3.21 µg/kg (95% CI: 3.08-3.34 µg/kg) and 53.0 % (95% CI: 43.0-62.0), respectively. Also, direct correlations between the increases in poverty as well as the amount of annual precipitation and prevalence of OTA was noted, while with decreasing in HDI the prevalence of OTA in coffee significantly was increased. Moreover, the lowest and highest concentrations of OTA in coffee were observed in Taiwan (0.35 µg/kg) and Turkey (79.0 µg/kg), respectively. The outcome of this meta-analysis can be used for the building of risk assessment models aiming to derive data for the development of specific actions to reduce the exposure to this mycotoxin in coffee and coffee-based products.