Measurement of the Toxic Trace Elements in Commercial Wheat Flours: Potential Health Risk via Dietary Intake

Heavy metals contamination is a major concern because of its serious threat to human health. The primary aim of this study was to examine potential health risks for national (adults and children) and international (Arab population) inhabitants that were exposed to heavy metals (Cd and Pb) through ingestion of wheat flour. A total of 300 wheat flours samples (<0.25 mm) of five commercial brands have been collected from 2016 to 2018 from Khuzestan province, Iran. The possible health risk was estimated based on the Hazard Quotient (HQ), hazard index (HI or non-carcinogenic risk), and carcinogenic Risk (CR) indices. The average concentrations of the Pb and Cd were significantly (P < 0.05) lower than the safety limit in all seasons for three years. However, 2.3% of Pb in the total samples exceeded the European Commission and FAO/WHO standards. All estimated values for non-carcinogenic risk were in the safe range (HQ < 1) among all consumers. The mean value of total CR for Pb was 1.23×10−6, 1.75×10-6, and 8.03 × 10-7 for adult, children, and Arab populations, respectively. For Cd exposure, the total CR value was 2.2×10−4, 3.13×10−4 and 1.44 ×10−4 for adult, children, and Arab populations, respectively. Cancer risk values determined for Cd were generally in the unsafe range during three years, indicating that there was CR for all consumers by ingestion intake of Cd contained in wheat flour in this study area. The results obtained indicated that the government requires implementing more remediation or intervention to control and mitigate the contamination burden of Cd in agricultural crops to reduce its associated carcinogenic risks.