Detection of Some Heavy Metals in Locally Processed and Imported Meat and Meat Products

This study was conducted to identify the levels of heavy metals (lead, cadmium, mercury, nickel, copper, iron, zinc) in the following processed local and imported meat: Sardine (canned full), Tuna (canned chunks), Hammour (frozen full), Euphrates Fish (frozen full), fish produced at Qattinah Lake in Syria (frozen full) , lamb (frozen ground), beef (frozen ground), lamb sausage (frozen full), beef sausage (frozen full), sausageproduced in Netherlands (frozen stuffed), lamb liver (frozen full), broiler chicken liver (frozen full), broiler chicken (frozen full), chicken mortadella (canned), beef mortadella (canned), chicken mortadella (canned) produced in Netherlands. Heavy metal concentrations were identified in the samples of the studied meat by atomic absorption spectrometer. The concentrations taken in the wet weight measured in (ppm) were as follows: lead values range between (0.1–5.61),cadmium(0.01–2.02), mercury (0.14 –79.01), nickel (0.11 - 0.82), copper (0.24 – 6.89), iron (1.01 - 91.03), zinc (8.14 - 45.5). It was noticed that in some of the studied samples of the imported and locally-processed meat the levels of lead, cadmium, mercury, and nickel were above the levels permitted by WHO (World Health Organization) and by FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization).While the concentrations of copper, iron, and zincwere belowthelevels permitted.