Determination of selected elements in canned food sold in Jordan markets.

In this study, the concentrations of seven heavy metals including As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn in imported canned food samples of different brands including tuna, beef, sardines, and mushroom were determined. Samples were collected from popular Jordanian market, Irbid city, Northern Jordan (44 samples of each type). The metal concentrations in canned food samples were found to be in the range of 1.85-4.50 µg/g for As, 0.42-0.58 µg/g for Cd, 0.47-1.67 µg/g for Cr, 0.73-0.90 µg/g for Cu, 1.08-2.77 µg/g for Ni, 2.5-3.0 µg/g for Pb, and 0.43-2.25 µg/g for Zn. Results revealed that As and Pb have the highest concentrations in all samples analyzed, whereas, the lowest concentrations obtained were in Cd. For example, in canned sardine, the mean concentrations of heavy metals are 0.43 µg/g for Zn, 2.50 µg/g for Pb, 1.74 µg/g for Ni, 0.80 µg/g for Cu, 0.47 µg/g for Cr, 0.42 µg/g for Cd, and 1.85 µg/g for As. Whereas, the mean concentrations in canned tuna were 3.48 µg/g for As, 0.47 µg/g for Cd, 0.53 µg/g for Cr, 0.73 µg/g for Cu, 2.77 µg/g for Ni, 2.80 µg/g for Pb, and 1.63 µg/g for Zn. The results of this study indicated that the concentration of the tested elements including As, Cd, Cr, Ni, and Pb in canned food samples sold in Jordanian markets exceeded the permissible limits set by health organizations such as FAO/WHO. The results were compared with the literature values.

Determination of heavy metals in canned fruits and vegetables sold in Jordan market.

In this study, the concentrations of selected heavy metals including Pb, Zn, Cr, Ni, Cu, As, and Cd in different brands of canned vegetables and fruits including canned tomato sauce (ketchup), canned green beans, canned whole carrots, and canned juice (pineapple) imported to Jordanian market were determined by acid digestion and atomic absorption spectroscopy. Samples were collected from popular Jordanian markets, Irbid city, Northern Jordan (11 samples of each type). The metal concentrations in the samples analyzed were found to be in the range of 2.6-3.0 mg/kg for Pb, 0.50-0.60 mg/kg for Cd, 2.50-5.10 mg/kg for As, 0.84-0.91 mg/kg for Cu, 0.32-3.02 mg/kg for Zn, 0.66-1.71 mg/kg for Cr, and 0.97-2.94 mg/kg for Ni. The results obtained showed that Pb and As have the highest concentrations in the most of samples analyzed, whereas, the lowest concentrations obtained were mainly in Cd. For example, in canned tomato sauce, the average concentrations of heavy metals are 3.50 mg/kg for As, 0.50 mg/kg for Cd, 0.66 mg/kg for Cr, 0.89 mg/kg for Cu, 1.15 mg/kg for Ni, 2.95 mg/kg for Pb, and 1.02 mg/kg for Zn. The results of this study reveal that the concentration of some toxic heavy metals (Pb, Cr, Ni, As, and Cd) in canned vegetable and fruit samples being sold in Jordanian markets exceeded the permissible limits set by different health organizations.