RESUMO
Cheeses are an important source of essential elements. Nevertheless, the level of some metals could pose a health risk. Therefore, the concentration of trace elements and toxic metals (Cr, Cu, Li, Ni, Sr, Pb, Cd, and Al) has been determined in artisanal cheeses from different geographical locations, and the intake of these metals from cheese consumption has been evaluated. The metal concentration was determined in a total of 90 cheese samples from different locations by using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. The highest concentration of Al (35.1 ± 4.42 mg/kg, wet weight) was found in artisanal cheeses from Zamora (Spain), followed by Sr (6.85 ± 0.35 mg/kg, wet weight) in artisanal cheeses from Cadiz (Spain). A daily consumption of 23.2 g of cheese provides a significant dietary contribution for Al of 0.82% of its tolerable weekly intake of 1 mg/kg of body weight per week. Canary Islands cheeses have a higher metal content than the non-Canary cheese, which could be because of the volcanic characteristics of the island soils. The intake of toxic metals and trace elements poses no risk to the health of adults.
