Measurement of Elements (Essential and Toxic) in Various Types of Canned Vegetable Available in Iran Using ICP‑OES...

Canned vegetables are widely consumed due to their convenience, making the measurement of both toxic and essential elements crucial for food safety evaluation. In this study, fourteen elements were analyzed in canned vegetable samples using the ICP‑OES method. These included toxic elements (Hg, Ni, Al, As, Cd, and Pb) and essential elements (K, Na, Ca, Mg, Mn, Fe, Zn, and Se). Moreover, a health risk assessment (covering both carcinogenic and non‑carcinogenic risks) was performed for children and adults based on per capita consumption using the Monte Carlo method. The results showed that among the toxic elements, aluminum had the highest mean concentration (417 ± 52.4 µg/kg), while mercury was not detected (ND) in any sample. For essential elements, potassium exhibited the highest mean level (4627 ± 1466 mg/kg), whereas selenium had the lowest (10.9 ± 5.37 mg/kg). Overall, the concentrations of both toxic and essential elements were below the established safety standards for those elements for which such standards exist in Iran and other international organizations. Probabilistic risk assessments demonstrated that the cumulative estimated daily intake (EDI), incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR), and target hazard quotient (THQ) for the analyzed toxic metals posed no significant health risks to Iranian consumers under either the average or maximum exposure scenarios (THQ ≤ 1, ILCR ≤ 10^- 6).