Health Risk Assessment and Heavy Metal Contamination Estimation in Date Palm Fruit Grown in Sindh, Pakistan: Multivariate Study

Cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) are commonly found in the environment due to human activities like industrialization and development. These metals are toxic and often contaminate water, food, and edible plants, leading to human exposure. This study investigates Cd and Pb levels in 68 date samples from supermarkets across various regions of Sindh, Pakistan, including 30 samples provided by companies that export date palm fruits globally. Electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) with conventional wet acid digestion (CAD) was used for metal determination. Optimization was carried out by Plackett–Burman design (PBD), central composite design (CCD), and response surface methodology (RSM). Results indicated that Cd levels in export samples ranged from 0.012 ± 0.001 to 0.061 ± 0.004, with an average value of 0.031 ± 0.002 mg/kg. Lead levels in these samples varied from 0.028 ± 0.001 to 0.079 ± 0.03, averaging 0.055 ± 0.004 mg/kg. These levels were within the safety limits. However, local market samples exhibited slightly higher Pb levels, ranging from 0.15 ± 0.01 to 0.32 ± 0.03, with an average of 0.26 ± 0.02 mg/kg, exceeding the recommended safety limits. In contrast, the Cd content in local market samples ranged from 0.12 ± 0.01 to 0.16 ± 0.02 mg/kg, remaining below the WHO/FAO. These contaminants may originate from cultivation, water, air, transportation, processing, and so forth. The method was validated by standard addition recovery test, triplicate analysis, procedure blanks, and standard reference material (SRM). The average daily intake (ADI) values for TMs, along with the hazard index (HI) and target hazard quotients (THQs) were calculated to assess potential health risks.