The concentration and health risk assessment of trace elements in commercial soft drinks from Iran marketed

The aim of the present study was to assess the concentration of the trace elements Al, As, Cd, Ba, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, Mn, Fe and Zn in 150 commercial soft drinks marketed of Iran, using inductive couple plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). The data obtained were compared with the permissible limit set for drinking water by the Codex Alimantarius (CA), United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization (FAO/WHO) and National Standard of Iran (NSI). The highest mean level was 84.11 +/- 27.06 mu g/L is related to Fe and the lowest was Cr > Pb > Ni > Al > Ba. Target hazard quotient index of toxic elements, for adults and children, was considerably lower than the safe risk limits THQ > 1.

Automated summary

This study assessed the concentration of trace elements in 150 commercial soft drinks in Iran and compared the results with the permissible limits for drinking water set by international and Iranian standards. The target hazard quotient index for toxic elements was found to be significantly lower than the safe risk limits.