Manganese, copper, zinc, iron, cadmium, mercury and lead in muscle meat, liver and kidneys of poultry, rabbit and sheep slaughtered in the northern part of Poland, 1987.

Manganese, copper, zinc, iron, cadmium, mercury and lead concentrations have been determined in muscle meat, livers and kidneys of ducks, geese, chickens, hens, rabbits and sheep slaughtered in the northern part of Poland in 1987. The mean values obtained related to wet weight for muscle meat, livers and kidneys of animals were: 0.11-0.27, 0.73-3.3 and 0.90-1.9 mg/kg Mn; 0.52-7.3, 3.8-88 and 2.8-15 mg/kg Cu; 5.7-40, 20-45 and 21-30 mg/kg Zn; 10-35, 27-83 and 50-180 mg/kg Fe; less than 5-5, 16-140 and 250-5100 micrograms/kg Cd; less than 1-3, 2-10 and 5-12 micrograms/kg Hg; and less than 10-20, 100-210 and 120-1300 micrograms/kg Pb, respectively. Substantial differences have been found in the mean copper concentration in muscle meat, livers and kidneys, zinc and iron in muscle meat, and cadmium in kidneys, between some of the species examined. The mean and maximum concentrations of mercury and lead found in muscle meat and organs of animals in the present study were low, and only in the case of cadmium were somewhat higher values found in kidneys of rabbit and hen. The results obtained are compared with the literature data on the concentrations of the metals examined in muscle meat, livers and kidneys of poultry, rabbit and sheep in Poland or elsewhere.