Lead, cadmium, iron, copper and zinc in fresh milk from the selected areas of the Cracow region

✍ Scribed by Krelowska-Kulas, M.

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1990
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 280 KB
• Volume: 34
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0027-769X
• DOI: 10.1002/food.19900340303

✦ Synopsis

The aim of the experiments was to determine some metals in fresh milk. The content of lead and cadmium in cow's milk from 4 dairy centres situated in various distances from the iron and steel works ''LENIN'' in Nowa Huta, a part ofcracow, was about ten times bigger than in milk from the control region (an agricultural area far from industrial influences). In many cases milk contains the upper admissible limit of lead and is questionable from the point of view of toxicology.

Chemization of the environment keeps increasing in the industrialized countries. It is an effect of a chemical protection of plants, mineral fertilization and high rate of industrial development [l, 171. This causes the increasing atmospheric air pollution with smoke, soil and water are contaminated with the wastes, dusts and sewages.

Lead and cadmium belong to the most toxic metals, the content of which has been increasing in food in the last years. It is one of the most important health problems. The content of these metals in milk may be considerable. According to some authors [2,4, 10,12, 16,211 the lead content in milk ranged between 20-60 pg/kg and cadmium content from 15-30 pg/ kg. Lead and cadmium get to milk mainly with feeding stuff but only 8 % of lead intaken by an animal gets to milk [8]. Cadmium penetrates milk much easier than lead [7]. To the group of trace elements, the specified amount of which is necessary for the correct functioning of a human organism, belong among others iron, copper and zinc. Served in bigger amounts they may cause poisonings both acute or chronic with a long period of delitescence.

The aim of the experiments was to determine some of the metals in fresh milk.