The Content and Toxicological Risk Assessment of Trace Elemental Impurities (Pb and Cr) in Snacks from Ogun State, Southwestern Nigeria.

The monitoring of food contamination by trace elemental impurities (TEIs) are major health challenges in developing countries. The present study evaluated the content and toxicological risk assessment of TEIs in commonly consumed snack/junk foods from Ogun State, Nigeria. TEIs (Pb and Cr) were determined in sixty snack food samples purchased from Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, southwestern Nigeria. The TEIs were analysed in quadruplicates using atomic absorption spectrometry with flame atomization. TEI data were subjected to simple descriptive and inferential statistics. The toxicological risk assessment of TEIs was evaluated for hazard quotient (HQ), hazard index (HI) and cancer risk (CR) using the United States Environmental Protection Agency-Integrated Risk Information System (USEPA-IRIS) model. Data showed the varying Pb levels of 8.22 ± 1.57 mg/kg in sausage to 12.25 ± 4.27 mg/kg in cocoyam chips higher than the permissible limit of the Codex Alimentarius of the Joint World Health Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization. The toxicological risk assessment revealed the HQs greater than 1.0 for Pb and Cr in most snack foods consumed by adults and children, indicating adverse health problems. The CRs of Pb (children) and Cr (adults and children) also breached the acceptable limit of 1.0 × 10, signifying possible lifetime development of cancer. It is therefore necessary to periodically monitor the TEIs in snacks to protect the public health.