Evaluación del riesgo toxicológico por cadmio y plomo en granos de arroz (Oryza sativa) comercializados en la ciudad de Cuenca

Abstract

Food safety is one of the most important public health problems in the world. Therefore, this study proposed to evaluate the toxicological risk that implies the presence of cadmium and lead in white and brown rice grains, commercialized in the city of Cuenca. Since the rice is an essential food in the diet of the inhabitants of Cuenca and it is known the harmful effects on health due to exposure to these metals. In the present study a survey (n=385) was conducted in order to obtain the data of place of sampling, type of rice, amount consumed, among others. The analyses of concentrations of both metals were determined by Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS), previous acid digestion. It was obtained lead concentrations in brown rice (n=10, 𝑋̅=0.31mg/kg, SD=0.02 mg/kg), which were above the established maximum limits in the Codex Alimentarius (0.2 mg/Kg). The concentrations of cadmium in the grains of brown rice, as well as of cadmium and lead in white rice (n=5), were below the limit of detection (Cd=0.05 mg/Kg, Pb=0.2 mg/Kg). The toxicological risk was determined for men, women, pregnant and children, whose Hazard Quotient (HQ) are: 0.31, 0.63, 1.87 and 1.86 respectively. The values obtained from HQ, for children and pregnant women (> 1), are worrying, due above all to the probability of manifesting adverse effects, mainly in the neurological development of children. On the other hand, the carcinogenic risk, at these levels of exposure in the population, is low.