Heavy metals contamination levels in the products of sugar industry along with their impact from sugar to the end users

The aim of the current case study is to sequentially assess the heavy metals (HMs) cadmium (Cd), iron (Fe), lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn) in five products (raw juice, bagasse, mud-cake, refined sugar and molasses) along with the effluents of the selected sugar industry (SSI) Sindh, Pakistan. Estimations of daily intake and possible toxic risk of HMs by the consumption of sugar of SSI to end-user (families of SSI workers) of age group of 2.0-5.0, 6.0-15.0, 16.0-30.0 and 31.0-50.0 years were conducted. The high contents of HMs were observed in molasses followed by mud-cake and bagasse (raw waste). The raw juice of sugarcane and refined/white sugar showed the lowest levels of these HMs. The low levels of HMs in effluents of SSI might be to their separation at different stages of sugar processing and refining into the mud-cake, bagasse and molasses. The calculated daily intake of Fe and Zn from refined/white sugar to various study groups was found to be adequate based on the recommended levels by Food and Nutrition Board (FNB). The estimated weekly intake (WI) for Cd and Pb by the consumption of SSI sugar was significantly lower (2-5 times) than the provisional acceptable WI of Cd and Pb by WHO from foodstuff. The potential toxic risk study of Cd and Pb revealed that the studied subjects were not at potential toxic risk by the consumption of SSI sugar.

Automated summary

The aim of this study was to assess the levels of heavy metals in sugar industry products and effluents, and estimate the intake and toxic risks of these metals for different age groups of sugar industry workers’ families. The results showed that the intake of lead and cadmium was lower than the provisional acceptable intake levels recommended by WHO.