Assessment of Cadmium in Chicken Meat and Offal. Food Safety and Food Poisoning

Abstract or Introduction

This study was carried out on the evaluation of cadmium in chicken meat and offal in Bodija, Sango and Ojoo markets in Ibadan between July and October, 2015. The appraisal was aimed at assessing the cadmium that can be accumulated in the kidney, liver, intestine, blood, muscle and the feathers. Ten mature chickens were bought and dissected to remove the chicken meat and offal samples. This samples were oven-dried separately and pulverised into powdered form through grinding with a mortar and pestle. These were acid-digested for cadmium analyses using Buck Scientific 210 VGP Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. The results showed varying mean concentrations in the intestine (0.713±0.024 ppm), feather (0.702±0.035 ppm) and muscle (0.592±0.019 ppm) with low mean concentrations in the blood (0.426±0.032 ppm), liver (0.432±0.021 ppm) and kidney (0.352±0.027 ppm). Most of the chicken meat and offal samples were above the WHO guideline limit of 0.05 ppm. The Target Hazard Quotient (THQ) from the study was below 1 which is indicative that the general populace in this study area is not at risk. It is therefore recommended that regular biomonitoring should be carried out on chicken meat and offal locally and globally for the purpose of food safety.