Trace Metals in Pork Meat Products Marketed in Italy: Occurrence and Health Risk Characterization

This study provides valuable information on the levels of various trace metals (Pb, Cd, Hg, Zn, Cu, Cr) in meat products (baked ham, raw ham, mortadella, cured sausage, würstel, salami) from South Italy and calculates potential health risk toxicity associated with their consumption for the total population and for children. In the samples studied metal concentrations are within the permissible legal limits (Cd: 0.01-0.03 μg g^-1 w.w., Hg: 0.01-0.02 μg g^-1 w.w., Zn: 5.71-7.32 μg g^-1 w.w., Cu: 1.08-1.21 μg g^-1 w.w., Cr: 0.15-0.23 μg g^-1 w.w.), except for Pb (Pb: 0.22-0.38 μg g^-1 w.w.). The estimated intake values are within the provisional tolerable daily intake limits for toxic metals and recommended daily intake values for essential metals in both tested groups. The noncarcinogenic risk values of the individual metals indicate that there is no health risk, but their combined effects might constitute a potential risk for children. Furthermore, the cumulative cancer risk of all samples studied exceeds the recommended threshold risk limit (> 10^-4) in both total population and children, indicating a risk of potential health problems for consumers especially for children, who are more vulnerable to toxic metal exposure.