DETERMINATION OF HEAVY METALS IN FRUIT JUICES SOLD IN BENIN CITY

ABSTRACT

The heavy metals Cd, Ni and Pb were assessed in the fruit juices including Chivita Active, Chivita Exotic, Ribena, Frutta, Mr. Fruits, and Caprison, collected from Lagos Street, Ring Road, Benin City, in triplicates. A total of 18 samples were collected. Heavy metals were analysed in the fruit juice samples using the Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS) model: VGP 210 made in USA. Results showed that Pb was detected in only Caprison with a mean concentration of 0.003±0.006 mg/l, Cd and Ni were not detected in any of the fruit juice samples. Probabilistic risk assessment (non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks) was estimated by models including Target Hazard Quotient (THQ) and Cancer risk (CR) and it showed that THQ was less than the permissible value of 1 indicating that there was no cancer risk if the fruit juice was consumed by man. Although no contamination levels that could pose a serious health problem were observed, there is however a need to ensure that these fruit juice are consumed in moderate quantities.