Abstract
Consumption of foodstuffs is considered to be one of the major routes of metal exposure to human population. In the present study, concentration levels of seven heavy metals were measured in different body parts of Baladi chicken from Jazan region, Saudi Arabia using Inductively Coupled-Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES). The concentrations of heavy metals in various chicken parts were recorded to be in the range of nd-0.01, 0.07-0.18, 1.08-3.95, 9.61-119.0, nd-0.16, 0.13-1.10, and 8.63-67.58 mg/kg for Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb and Zn respectively. Relatively higher metal concentrations were observed in bone, lungs and brain, which are generally not consumed by the local population. Meat, the most consumed part of the chicken has been found to be among the least contaminated tissues. Importantly, the lead (Pb) content was found to be of serious concern in the tested chicken samples, as it was measured to be higher than its maximum permissible limit (0.1 mg/kg) in poultry meat set by WHO and European Union. The estimated daily intakes (EDIs) of the tested metals through the consumption of the Baladi chicken were found to be lower than their respective reference oral doses (RfD) set by USEPA. The non-carcinogenic health risks to the target population due to exposure of the tested metals were assessed by estimating the Hazard Quotient (HQ) and Hazard Index (HI) values. The HQ and HI values observed in this estimation were less than one, suggesting that the exposure of these heavy metals through the consumption of Baladi chicken is unlikely to produce potential health risks to the population of the tested region.