Abstract
A graphitic digestion method linked with inductive coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP OES) instrument was used to determine the levels of trace elements in frozen and chilled chicken samples collected from markets in Jouf city, Saudi Arabia. The current method is innovative because samples are digested using a graphitic digestion system, which is safer, facile sample handling, short time for assessment, and more environmentally friendly than existing procedures. The results revealed that the chilled chicken samples contained higher concentrations of Na, Fe, Cr, and Mn than the frozen samples, which were below detection limit. Furthermore, the Cu, Al, Zn, and Cr contents in some of the analyzed chicken samples were over the maximum permissible limit of international standards, indicating a serious risk to consumers. The estimation of health-risk indicated that trace metal contamination causes health risks to the consumers, but the effect decreases with decreasing the target hazard quotient value in the rank of Cr > Al > Zn > Cu > Mn > Fe, with all values less than 1 except for Cr in chilled chicken. Moreover, the tolerable limit (1 × 10
−6
) for the carcinogenic risk for Cr in chilled chicken was observed to be exceeded.