Eslamizad Samira, Alehashem Maryam
Food Safety Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5B3, Canada.
J Trace Elem Med Biol. 2025 Feb;87:127568. doi: 10.1016/j.jtemb.2024.127568. Epub 2024 Nov 20.
Rice is a staple food in Iran, where significant imports from India and Pakistan are necessary to meet demand. However, imported rice has been found to contain harmful levels of heavy metals, posing health risks.
This study aimed to assess the levels of 34 metals in imported rice and evaluated the associated health risks for the Iranian population.
Sixty samples of rice imported into the Iranian market from India, Pakistan, and Thailand were analyzed for 34 metals using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The metals included carcinogenic elements-Arsenic (As), Lead (Pb), Nickel (Ni), and Cadmium (Cd)-and non-carcinogenic: Sodium (Na), Iron (Fe), Potassium (K), Calcium (Ca), Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), Magnesium (Mg), Platinum (Pt), Silicon (Si), Gold (Au), Boron (B), Bismuth (Bi), Tungsten (W), Tin (Sn), Molybdenum (Mo), Chromium (Cr), Barium (Ba), Strontium (Sr), Aluminum (Al), Selenium (Se), Manganese (Mn), Cobalt (Co), Antimony (Sb), Titanium (Ti), Lanthanum (La), Lithium (Li), Vanadium (V), Beryllium (Be), Palladium (Pd), and Mercury (Hg). The health risks associated with the consumption of rice were assessed through the Target Hazard Quotient (THQ), Hazard Index (HI), Incremental Lifetime Cancer Risk (ILCR), cumulative cancer risk (∑ILCR), and Margin of Exposure (MOE) approaches.
The analysis revealed that the Cd level in 1 sample and Pb levels in 5 samples exceeded the maximum concentrations established by the Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran. The risk of cancer in adults exposed to As and Cd at mean concentrations was found to be higher than 1 in 100,000, while for Pb and Ni, the risk was greater than 1 in 10,000. In children, the ILCR for As and Cd at mean concentrations exceeded 10⁻⁴, indicating a moderate risk level, and for Pb and Ni, it reached 1 in 1000, emphasizing the need for enhanced public health safety measures. Additionally, ∑ILCR from all metals in both adults and children exceeded the 10⁻⁴ threshold. The MOE values for mean, median, and 90th percentile exposure to As, Pb, and Ni were below 10,000 in adults and children, indicating a significant health concern from rice consumption.
These findings highlight the potential health risks of consuming rice contaminated with heavy metals, particularly arsenic. Therefore, special attention should be directed towards monitoring and reducing toxic metal levels in imported rice, with interventions aimed at mitigating these risks.
大米是伊朗的主食，为满足需求，从印度和巴基斯坦大量进口大米必不可少。然而，已发现进口大米含有有害水平的重金属，对健康构成风险。
本研究旨在评估进口大米中34种金属的含量，并评估其对伊朗人口的相关健康风险。
使用电感耦合等离子体发射光谱法（ICP-OES）对从印度、巴基斯坦和泰国进口到伊朗市场的60份大米样本进行34种金属的分析。这些金属包括致癌元素——砷（As）、铅（Pb）、镍（Ni）和镉（Cd）——以及非致癌元素：钠（Na）、铁（Fe）、钾（K）、钙（Ca）、铜（Cu）、锌（Zn）、镁（Mg）、铂（Pt）、硅（Si）、金（Au）、硼（B）、铋（Bi）、钨（W）、锡（Sn）、钼（Mo）、铬（Cr）、钡（Ba）、锶（Sr）、铝（Al）、硒（Se）、锰（Mn）、钴（Co）、锑（Sb）、钛（Ti）、镧（La）、锂（Li）、钒（V）、铍（Be）、钯（Pd）和汞（Hg）。通过目标危害商数（THQ）、危害指数（HI）、终生癌症风险增量（ILCR）、累积癌症风险（∑ILCR）和暴露边际（MOE）方法评估食用大米相关的健康风险。
分析显示，1个样本中的镉含量和5个样本中的铅含量超过了伊朗标准与工业研究所在所确定的最大浓度。发现成年人暴露于平均浓度的砷和镉时患癌风险高于十万分之一，而对于铅和镍，风险大于万分之一。在儿童中，平均浓度下砷和镉的ILCR超过10⁻⁴，表明风险水平为中度，而对于铅和镍，该值达到千分之一，强调需要加强公共卫生安全措施。此外，成人和儿童中所有金属的∑ILCR均超过10⁻⁴阈值。成人和儿童中砷、铅和镍平均、中位数和第90百分位数暴露的MOE值均低于10,000，表明食用大米对健康存在重大担忧。
这些发现凸显了食用受重金属污染大米，尤其是受砷污染大米的潜在健康风险。因此，应特别关注监测和降低进口大米中的有毒金属含量，并采取干预措施以减轻这些风险。
