Measurement of some heavy metals in chicken meat supplied in Isfahan province

Today, one of the concerns of consumers of animal protein sources is the presence of heavy metals. The accumulation of these elements in meat and its consumption by humans can cause acute and chronic disorders in the function of vital organs. In order to estimate heavy metal cadmium, zinc and silver in meat and poultry products, 100 samples of chicken breast and chicken thigh and 100 samples of heart and liver were collected in Isfahan province. After tissue digestion and passing from filter paper, the elements of cadmium, zinc and silver were measured in tissue samples by an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The results showed that the mean (± SD) of cadmium concentration in chicken thigh, breast, liver and heart samples was 0.055 ± 0.07, 0.048 ± 0.063, 0.074 ± 0.091, and 0.012 ± 0.034 mg/kg. Mean (± SD) of zinc concentration in chicken thigh, breast, liver and heart samples were 17.18 ± 9.10, 15.45 ± 7.75, 22.36 ± 10.87, and 19.55 ± 7.38 mg/kg, respectively. The amount of cadmium and zinc in all examined samples is below the international permissible limit. The mean (±SD) of silver concentration in chicken thigh, breast, liver and heart samples was 0.0080 ± 0.0094, 0.0048 ± 0.0063, 0.012 ± 0.014 and 0.0036 ± 0.0060 respectively. The amount of silver in tissue samples has not been detected in most samples. هn this study, the storage of elements in meat and poultry is less than the international permissible limit, but monitoring of heavy metals is necessary.