Determining Contamination of Heavy Metals in Edible Salts of Isfahan Market in 2011

Heavy metals like Cadmium, Arsenic, Lead and Mercury are regarded as the most common heavy metals in the environment which can enter the food chain via various routs and may cause a great number of disorders within humans. Besides these heavy metals, such metals as Zinc and Copper can be dangerous in excess amounts. Edible salt, as one of the main additives, can contain these heavy metals. Hence, this study aimed to determine the contamination of heavy metals in edible salts of Isfahan market in 2011. In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 15 packets of refined table salt and 5 packets of unrefined ones were analyzed. Accuracy of the analysis was assured through repeated analysis of five samples. The heavy metal contents of salts were measured via a flameless Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (FAAS) and Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP). Moreover, SPSS software was applied to analyze the data utilizing t-test. The mean concentrations of Cd, Pb, As, Hg, Cu and Zn in the refined table salt were 0.15, 0.57, 0.69, 0.061, and 0.87µg/g, whereas their mean concentrations were reported 6.34, 0.16, 0.61, 0.63, 0.058, 0.86 and 7.53 µg/g, respectively in the unrefined salt. The study findings demonstrated that Arsenic and Mercury concentrations mean were reported higher than the standard in the available salt samples, whereas the concentrations of other heavy metals were observed lower than this extent in the refined and unrefined salts. Furthermore, no significant difference was observed between mean concentrations of heavy metals in refined and unrefined edible salts. The estimated amount of provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) of these heavy metals was observed below the amount indicated by the guideline values. However, utilizing suitable methods is necessitated in order to remove the mentioned pollutants of edible salt.