Heavy metal levels in milk and cheese marketed in the city of Cajamarca, Peru
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Abstract
Heavy metals are highly harmful environmental pollutants due to their toxicity, persistence in the atmosphere and their ability to accumulate in the human body and other biological organisms. Environmental negligence and improper husbandry of farm animals can allow their products to contain elevated levels of heavy metals, posing a risk to public and environmental health. This study aimed to determine the levels of cadmium and lead in milk samples from cows fed forage irrigated with sewage water, as well as in cheeses marketed in the city of Cajamarca, Peru. Eight milk and 12 cheese samples were taken and analyzed using Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (GFAAS). In the milk samples, the lead level ranged from 0.400 to 0.632 mg/L and cadmium from <0.001 to 0.008 mg/L (p=0.000). Meanwhile, all cheese samples had levels below 0.02 mg/kg for lead and less than 0.01 mg/kg for cadmium. The results suggest that the presence of lead in the milk is likely related to the use of forage irrigated with wastewater. Furthermore, this finding underscores the need for continuous monitoring and management of heavy metal content in food, especially as agricultural and dairy production practices evolve.
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