Food Safety Analysis of Milk and Beef in Southwestern Uganda

Background. Inorganic pollutants in milk and beef are of major public health concern; however, information in Africa is still limited due to low food safety monitoring practices. In this study, we established levels of lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), and iron (Fe) in milk and beef and obtained the estimated daily intake (EDI) and incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) as measures of risk to the Ugandan population. Materials and Methods. This was a cross-sectional study in which a total of 40 samples of milk and beef were collected from Bushenyi district in southwestern Uganda. Samples were analyzed by atomic absorbance spectrophotometer, and the EDI and ILCR were computed using the US EPA reference values. Results and Discussion. Heavy metal concentrations were highest in the order of Zn > Fe > Pb > Cu in milk samples, while in beef samples, concentrations were highest in the order of Zn > Pb > Fe > Cu and no Cd was detected. Furthermore, beef had significantly higher (P