Determination of selected elements in canned food sold in Jordan markets

In this study, the concentrations of seven heavy metals including As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn in imported canned food samples of different brands including tuna, beef, sardines, and mushroom were determined. Samples were collected from popular Jordanian market, Irbid city, Northern Jordan (44 samples of each type). The metal concentrations in canned food samples were found to be in the range of 1.85-4.50 μg/g for As, 0.42-0.58 μg/g for Cd, 0.47-1.67 μg/g for Cr, 0.73-0.90 μg/g for Cu, 1.08-2.77 μg/g for Ni, 2.5-3.0 μg/g for Pb, and 0.43-2.25 μg/g for Zn. Results revealed that As and Pb have the highest concentrations in all samples analyzed, whereas, the lowest concentrations obtained were in Cd. For example, in canned sardine, the mean concentrations of heavy metals are 0.43 μg/g for Zn, 2.50 μg/g for Pb, 1.74 μg/g for Ni, 0.80 μg/g for Cu, 0.47 μg/g for Cr, 0.42 μg/g for Cd, and 1.85 μg/g for As. Whereas, the mean concentrations in canned tuna were 3.48 μg/g for As, 0.47 μg/g for Cd, 0.53 μg/g for Cr, 0.73 μg/g for Cu, 2.77 μg/g for Ni, 2.80 μg/g for Pb, and 1.63 μg/g for Zn. The results of this study indicated that the concentration of the tested elements including As, Cd, Cr, Ni, and Pb in canned food samples sold in Jordanian markets exceeded the permissible limits set by health organizations such as FAO/WHO. The results were compared with the literature values.