Determination of some heavy metals in different wheat flour brands in Sulaimani, Kurdistan Region - Iraq

Muhammad Faruq Wahab and Dara Muhamed Jamil
Additional contact information
Muhammad Faruq Wahab: Food Science and Quality Control Department, College of Agricultural Engineering Science, University of Sulaimani, Sulaimani, Iraq

Czech Journal of Food Sciences, 2023, vol. 41, issue 6, 455-461

Abstract: Wheat flour is one of the most important sources of nutrients, and it is widely consumed worldwide as a raw ingredient in bread and other pastries. High heavy metal concentrations in the consumed wheat products could induce higher health risks. This study evaluated the heavy metal concentrations in the most available foreign and domestic wheat flour in Sulaimani, Kurdistan Iraq. The wheat flour samples were collected from different locations, and the heavy metal concentration was measured by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The mean values in wheat flour samples were roughly within the permissible limit set by Iraqi standard (IQS), GCC Standardization Organization (GSO) (GCC - Gulf Cooperation Council), Codex, and FAO/WHO. Heavy metals were detected in the descending order copper (Cu) > lead (Pb) > arsenic (As) > chromium (Cr) > nickel (Ni) > cadmium (Cd) > cobalt (Co). The results showed that wheat flour samples from the Sulaimani markets were slightly contaminated with Ni, and one domestic wheat flour sample with Pb was probably linked to fertiliser and soil contamination. It is concluded that wheat flour could be a source of chronic exposure to toxic heavy metals such as nickel and lead, resulting in adverse health issues later. Consequently, regular monitoring of soil contamination, water quality, and use of recommended levels of fertilisers and pesticides in the agricultural areas of Sulaimani are recommended.

Keywords: Iraqi standard; inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES); contamination; domestic; foreign (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://cjfs.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/85/2023-CJFS.html (text/html)
http://cjfs.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/85/2023-CJFS.pdf (application/pdf)
free of charge

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:caa:jnlcjf:v:41:y:2023:i:6:id:85-2023-cjfs

DOI: 10.17221/85/2023-CJFS

Access Statistics for this article

Czech Journal of Food Sciences is currently edited by Ing. Zdeňka Náglová, Ph.D.

More articles in Czech Journal of Food Sciences from Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Ivo Andrle ().