Some heavy metals assessment in frozen chicken meat sold in Erbil local markets

الملخص EN

The present work was conducted to evaluate the quality of frozen chicken imported to Iraq regarding the heavy metal content of six elements Iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn), Magnesium (Mg), Calcium (Ca), Zinc (Zn) and Lead (Pb) in ppm were determined in three different body parts i.e.

breast, wing and thighs of Brazilian and Turkish origins.

These heavy metals were determined using X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (XRF).

The contents were compared with the internationally allowed levels for safety reasons.

However, Iron, Manganese, Magnesium, Calcium have been within the range, the Zn and Pb have exceeded the internationally allowed limits by WHO in Brazilian chicken.

Both wing and thigh muscles, especially in Brazilian revealed higher proportion of Zn than permissible limits (10-50 ppm) which was allowed by ANZFA in comparison with other breast tissues.

Chicken of Turkey is reported to be safer than that of Brazil.

People are better to utilize domestic chicken rather than the imported one as it could be contaminated with heavy metals that come from commercially-produced foods.-