Concentrations of zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr), vanadium (V) and cobalt (Co) were measured in 190 samples covering 19 different brands of popular baby foods in Nigeria to assess whether the intakes complied with the recommended desired levels for essential metals and permissible levels for toxic elements. The mean concentrations of Zn, Cu, Cd, Pb, Fe, Ni, Cr, V and Co in different types of infant foods were found to vary from 1.8-7.8; <0.001-0.1; <0.001-0.02; 0.01-0.1; 4.4-25.8; 0.03-0.06; 0.1-1.6; <0.001-0.1 to <0.001-0.1 µg g(-1), respectively. The average concentrations of these metals were higher in soy-based formulas than milk-based infant foods. The estimated average daily intakes of metals through the consumption of these brands of infant foods for ages 0-6 and 7-12 months were 118.6 and 163.5; 1.0 and 1.9; 0.2 and 0.3; 1.3 and 1.8; 294.8 and 530.6; 1.0 and 1.1; 15.1 and 20.6; and 0.8 and 4.0 µg kg(-1) body weight (bw) day(-1) for Zn, Cu, Pb, Cd, Fe, Ni, Cr and Co, respectively. The daily intakes of non-essential elements of these metals through baby foods are well below the recommended tolerable levels. Similarly, the daily intake levels of essential elements (e.g. Zn, Co, Cu and Fe) were also significantly lower than the recommended desirable levels in infant foods.
Keywords: AAS; atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS); canned foods; exposure; heavy metals; infant formulae; metals analysis; nutritional.