Lead levels were determined in 52 baby food samples dedicated to feeding
children from birth until the age of 12 months. These samples were consisting
of dried cow's milk, rice, wheat, cereal, fruits in addition to samples of human
milk. Samples w
ere exposed to welt digestions and lead level was determined
using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometer, and results were
compared with the certified reference samples. Results indicated that that
different levels of leads were determined in the samples studied and it was in
the lowest concentration (5.72 μg/kg diet) in canned fruits and in the highest
concentration (121.35 μg/kg) in cereal samples ranged. Other interface levels of
leads were found in the other baby food and reached 20.41μg/L in human milk,
84.32 μg/kg of cow´s milk provided from for 0 to 6 months of age, 98.15 μg/kg
of cow´s milk provided at age 6 to 12 months, and 92.62, 99.94 μg/kg in
formulas containing rice and wheat, respectively. While formulas based on
cereal had the biggest.
This study was conducted at the laboratories of Food Science Department at
the Faculty of Agriculture, Damascus University in order to study the
possibility of prolonging the shelf life of chicken breast by vacuum packaging
and treating with aceti
c acid. Chicken breasts were immersed into a solution
having 1% or 2% of acetic acid concentration for 30 sec. and packaged with
vacuumed and not vacuumed sacs. Samples were preserved at 4±1 ºC for 21
days and examined after 0, 7, 14 and 21 days of refrigeration for
microbiological, chemical and sensory properties. Microbiological analyses
included determination of total count of bacteria, coliforms, Salmonella,
anaerobic bacteria, Pseudomonas, yeasts and molds. Chemical analyses
included determination of pH value and non-protein nitrogen. Sensory
properties were evaluated for color, smell and texture. Results revealed that
samples immersed into a solution with 1% and 2% of acetic acid concentration
had affectively improved quality and sensory properties of chicken breast for
more than 14 days compared with control samples and the samples treated by
2% of acetic acid with vacuum packaging had the best quality results.