Evaluation and Determination of Toxic Metals, Lead and Cadmium, in Incoming Raw Milk from Traditional and Industrial Farms to Milk Production Factories in Arak, Iran

ABSTRACT Background: Milk is regarded as a unique source of food for all ages. When milk is exposed to various contaminants, including lead and cadmium, it is considered a risk to humans. The presence of some metal pollutants, especially Cd and Pb, facilitates their entry into the food chain and thus increases the possibility of their toxic effects on humans and animals. Therefore, we decided to check lead and cadmium levels in incoming raw milk in milk production factories in Arak city, Iran. Methods: In this study, 48 samples of milk were obtained from 28 industrial and 20 traditional farms. After the digestion process, at first, the metals were extracted with complexing agents, APDC, and MIBK solvent. Then atomic absorption method with graphite furnace was applied. Results: The results were analyzed by analytical tests such as Npar, Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis, and t-test using SPSS software and it was specified that the means of lead and cadmium were equal to 16.0456 and 20.09 ppb in raw milk. P-values equal to 0.009 and 0.002 ppb were considered significant for lead and cadmium, respectively. The standard levels for lead and cadmium in milk were 1000 and 100 ppb, respectively. In all milk samples, lead and cadmium pollution were less than the standard limit. Conclusion: The amounts of toxic metals (lead and cadmium) in raw milk produced in traditional and industrial farms in all seasons were lower than the standard limits. Also, the mean amounts of lead and cadmium in all milk samples were less than the standard limits for milk.