Detection and distribution of residues and additives in meat and meat products in Zenica-Doboj canton, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

Objective: Many additives are of essential importance for the taste and quality of products, however, many of them pose a danger to human health, and are subject to daily routine quality control of products intended for human consumption. In addition to additives, residues represent a major challenge as possible contaminants of products from the field to the dining table. Methods: Through the research, 85 samples of meat products (fresh meat, salami, sausages, dried meat products) were processed and all were analyzed for the presence of aflatoxin B1 (AFL B1), as well as for chlorides, nitrites and heavy metals (cadmium and lead). Results: The average content of AFL B1 in the meat samples was 0.048 µg/kg (0.019 to 0.105 µg/kg) which is significantly lower than the recommended value in some European countries (1 μg/kg).Chloride content was detected in the range from 0.000 to 9.955 %m/m (average concentration 2.377 %m/m). The average nitrite content was 8.330 mg/kg (min. 0.550 – max. 45.705 mg/kg), and maximum permitted levels in meat products is 150 mg/kg. Among the 85 processed samples, lead and cadmium were detected in 79 and 29 products (92.94% and 34.11%), with an average of 0.136 and 0.042 mg/kg, respectively. Lead was detected in the range from 0.000 to 3.474 mg/kg, and cadmium from 0.000 to 2.544 mg/kg. Maximum permitted level for lead si 0.1 mg/kg, and for cadmium is 0.05 mg/kg, so this results are very concerning Conclusion: The results show the need for continuous monitoring of the amount of additives in meet products on the market, and regular monitoring of residues in products intended for human consumption. It is necessary to stick to proper hygienic practices during the preparation of the product at all stages from the field to the dining table.

Keywords

• Aflatoxin B1
• Nitrite
• Chloride
• Lead
• Cadmium
• Meat Products
• Health Riscs

References

1. Barnes J, Whiley H, Ross K, Smith J. Defining Food Safety Inspection. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022;1:19(2):789. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19020789
2. Sabuncuoğlu S, editor. Mycotoxins and Food Safety. IntechOpen. 2020.: doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.77743
3. Deepa N, Sreenivasa MY. Sustainable approaches for biological control of mycotoxigenic fungi and mycotoxins in cereals. In New and Future Developments in Microbial Biotechnology and Bioengineering. 2019; 149-161. .
4. Dai Y, Huang K, Zhang B, Zhu L, Xu W. Aflatoxin B1-induced epigenetic alterations: An overview. Food Chem Toxicol. 2017;109 (Pt 1): 683-689. doi:10.1016/j.fct.2017.06.034
5. Ostry V, Malir F, Toman J, et al. Mycotoxins as human carcinogens—the IARC Monographs classification. Mycotoxin Re-search 2017 (33) ;65-73 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12550-016-0265-
6. Fu Z, Xi S. The effects of heavy metals on human metabolism. Toxicol Mech Methods. 2020;30(3):167-176. doi:10.1080/15376516.2019.1701594
7. Balali-Mood M, Naseri K, Tahergorabi Z, Khazdair MR, Sadeghi M. Toxic Mechanisms of Five Heavy Metals: Mercury, Lead, Chromium, Cadmium, and Arsenic. Front Pharmacol. 2021;12:643972. Published 2021 Apr 13. doi:10.3389/fphar.2021.643972
8. ATSDR’s Substance Priority List. Available online: https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/spl/index.html#2022spl

9. Charkiewicz AE, Omeljaniuk WJ, Nowak K, Garley M, Nikliński J. Cadmium Toxicity and Health Effects—A Brief Sum-mary. Molecules. 2023; 28(18):6620. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28186620
10. Sambu S, Hemaram U, Murugan R, Alsofi AA. Toxicological and Teratogenic Effect of Various Food Additives: An Updated Review [retracted in: Biomed Res Int. 2024 Jan 9;2024:9792751]. Biomed Res Int. 2022;2022:6829409. Published 2022 Jun 24. doi:10.1155/2022/6829409
11. Wu L, Zhang C, Long Y, Chen Q, Zhang W, & Liu G. Food additives: From functions to analytical methods. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition. 2021;62(30), 8497–8517. https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2021.1929823
12. Shakil MH, Trisha AT, Rahman M, et al. Nitrites in Cured Meats, Health Risk Issues, Alternatives to Nitrites: A Re-view. Foods. 2022;11(21):3355. Published 2022 Oct 25. doi:10.3390/foods11213355
13. Tobin BD, O’Sullivan MG, Hamill RM, Kerry JP. Effect of varying salt and fat levels on the sensory and physiochemical quali-ty of frankfurters. Meat Sci. 2012;92(4):659-666. doi:10.1016/j.meatsci.2012.06.017
14. EN 14084:203 IDT, Foodstuffs-Determination of trace elements-Determination of lead, cadmium, zinc, copper and iron by atomic absortion spectrometry (AAS) after microwave digestion.
15. ISO 2918-1975 Meat and meat products Determination of nitrite content (Reference method)
16. ISO 1841-1:1996 Meat and meat products Determination of chloride content Part 1: Volhard method
17. Algahtani FD, Morshdy AE, Hussein MA, et al. Biogenic Amines and Aflatoxins in Some Imported Meat Products: Inci-dence, Occurrence, and Public Health Impacts. Journal of Food Quality, 2020, doi.org/10.1155/2020/8718179
18. González-Weller D, Karlsson L, Caballero A, et al. Lead and cadmium in meat and meat products consumed by the popu-lation in Tenerife Island, Spain. Food Addit Contam. 2006;23(8):757-763. doi:10.1080/02652030600758142
19. Hoha GV, Costăchescu E, Leahu A , & Păsărin, B. Heavy metals contamination levels in processed meat marketed in Ro-mania. Environmental Engineering and Management Journal, 2014;13(9): 2411-2415.
20. Yalçin S, Yalçin SS. Nitrate and nitrite content of meat products. Arch Dis Child. 1998;79(2):198. doi:10.1136/adc.79.2.198a
21. Gozdecka G, Błaszak B, Cierach M. Content of nitrates and nitrites in unprocessed raw beef. Czech J. Food Sci.. 2021;39(2):95-99. doi: 10.17221/37/2020-CJFS.
22. Al-Kaseem M, Al-Assaf Z, Karabet F. Rapid and Simple Extraction Method for Volatile N-Nitrosamines in Meat Products. Pharmacology & Pharmacy 2013;4(8): 611-618. doi: 10.4236/pp.2013.48087.
23. Aaslyng MD, Vestergaard C, Koch AG. The effect of salt reduction on sensory quality and microbial growth in hotdog sau-sages, bacon, ham and salami. Meat Sci. 2014;96(1):47-55. doi:10.1016/j.meatsci.2013.06.004.
24. Capuano E, Van Der Veer G, Verheijen PJJ, et al. Comparison of a sodium-based and chloride-based approach for the de-termination of sodium chloride content of processed foods in the Netherlands, Journal of Food Composition and Analysis. 2013; 31: 129–136. doi.org/10.1016/j.jfca.2013.04.004
25. Perez-Palacios T, Salas A, Muñoz A, et al. Sodium chloride determination in meat products: Comparison of the official ti-tration-based method with atomic absorption spectrometry in Journal of Food Composition and Analysis. 2022; 108