Study of aluminium and lead in some traditional Omani dishes

Because of the recent interest on the aluminium content of foods cooked in aluminium saucepans and the association between aluminium and lead and many toxic symptoms and disease, information about the source of exposure of man to these metals specially from food and drinks are required. Thirty four of the most commonly consumed Omani dishes were analyzed for their aluminium and lead content, in order to determine the level of contamination and to estimate the approximate oral intake of each metal. The level of aluminium in the studied dishes was in the range between 0.98 and 16.53 mg/kg with a mean 5.4 mg/kg. The highest level of aluminium was found in fish dishes (9.03 mg/kg) and meat and poultry dishes (7.66 mg/kg). The effect of using aluminium pans on the metal level was also studied in some foods. The effect varies from slight increase in case of frying or cooking of fish to a significant increase in case of baking rakal bread on aluminium flat pan. The level of lead in the studied dishes ranged between 0.026 and 1.75 mg/kg with a mean of 0.32 mg/kg. Salted fish contained the highest level of lead (0.57 mg/kg). The approximate daily intake, calculated on the base of the serving quantities, was found to be within the acceptable daily or weekly intake recommended for each metal.