INTRODUCTION:

Potato chips are a popular snack for many people around the world and a dietary source of carbohydrates, protein, and essential nutrients¹. Their consumption has been increasing over the years especially for children causing them obesity^2,3. There are many flavors of potato chips available to meet different preferences¹.

Manufacturing potato chips involves a series of steps, starting with selecting potatoes (solanum tuberosum)⁴, cutting them into thin slices, deep-frying them, adding different seasonings, and packaging the final product⁵.

However, concerns have been raised about the presence of heavy metals in food⁶. It may contaminate potato chips through soil or environmental pollution and pesticides, the production process, and contamination of seasoning and packaging⁷.

Heavy metals -such as lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic⁸- can have negative health effects when consumed in large quantities, due to their ability to accumulate in tissues over time and cause a range of health problems^9,10, include organ damage, growth problems in children, and cancer¹⁰. Other heavy metals that considered to be essential to the body and have important role in biological systems, but they became toxic if exceed the permitted levels, such as copper, zinc, iron and manganese¹.

Lead contamination in food can occur through lead-based paints, contaminated soil, water pipes, and food packaging materials^11,12. High levels of Lead exposure can cause neurological damage^12,13, and chronic exposure to low levels may affect children's development, the reproductive system, and various other health problems^9,12. Cadmium found in industrial processes, such as battery manufacturing and metal plating. It can also be found in fertilizers and pesticides used in agriculture^7,12. It can accumulate in crops like rice, leafy vegetables, and root crops, as well as in shellfish and crustaceans. Long-term exposure to cadmium can lead to kidney damage, bone disorders, and an increased risk of certain cancers^6,7,12,13.

Therefore, there is always a need to detect these elements to reduce exposure, especially in children. This study aimed to determine the concentrations of Cadmium and Lead using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy (GF-AAS) in potato chips manufactured in Syria to determine whether they exceed the acceptable limits, in addition to studying the effect of different flavors on the concentrations of these two elements.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

Reagents:

All the reagents were of analytical grade. Double deionized water was used for dilution and preparation of reagents and standards. All the plastic and glassware were cleaned by soaking in dilute nitric acid 2% for 24 hours and were rinsed with distilled water prior to use and dried to ensure that any contamination does not occur.

Sample collection:

Commercially three popular brands of potato chips (coded as A, B and C) were randomly purchased from several markets in Damascus, Syria, and they were divided into 4 groups according to flavor (salt, cheese, barbeque and hot).

Sample digestion:

Wet digestion of the samples was performed^14,15 using a mixture of nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide (3:1) (16 ml for 5.0g sample). This mixture was heated up to 130°C for 1 h, after cooling 10ml of double deionized water was added to the sample and mixed. The residue was filtered through Whatman filter paper No. 41. The sample was then diluted to 100mL with double deionized water.

Blank samples that contain 12.0mL of nitric acid and 4.0 mL of hydrogen peroxide were prepared in the same procedure as real samples.

Analysis of samples:

The samples were analyzed by GF-AAS to determine the heavy metals concentration^16,17. Working conditions of GF-AAS are shown in (Table 1).

Table 1. Instrument operating conditions for the determination of heavy metals in samples by GF-AAS.

Element

Wavelength

(nm)

Lamp current

(mA)

Slit width

(nm)

Detection limit

(μg/L)

283.3

7.5

1.3

0.3

228.8

7.5

1.3

0.01

All standards and samples were analyzed in triplicates. The value of heavy metals concentration in potato chips (mg/L) was applied into following equation Eq. (1) to obtain the actual concentration of heavy metals present in the samples (mg/kg).

Heavy metal concentration in potato chips¹,

C x A

Mg/kg = ----------- (1)

Where, C = Heavy metal concentration in potato chips (mg/L); A = Final volume of diluted sample; W = weight of sample (g).

RESULT:

Lead concentrations in potato chips samples:

(Table 2) and (Figure 1) show the concentrations of lead in commercial brands of potato chips and the difference in concentration of lead according to flavor. Results are expressed as the average of the triplicate analyses.

The concentrations of lead in potato chips were ranged between 0.01448 to 0.18013mg/kg. Barbeque flavor of brand B showed the highest concentration, and exceeded the maximum permitted level for lead by Codex Alimentarius¹⁸.

Table 2. Mean lead concentrations (mg/kg) of potato chips samples (Data are presented as means±SD, n = 5)

Brand	Flavor	Pb
A	Salted	0.01856 ± 0.0014
	Cheese	0.01568 ± 0.009
	Hot	0.0196 ± 0.0024
	Barbeque	0.01748 ± 0.0016
B	Salted	0.03508 ± 0.0046
	Cheese	0.03232 ± 0.0054
	Hot	0.01752 ± 0.0017
	Barbeque	0.17032 ± 0.0079*
C	Salted	0.01928 ± 0.0013
	Cheese	0.02804 ± 0.0041
	Hot	0.02524 ± 0.0025
	Barbeque	0.02804 ± 0.0029
Permitted level by Codex Alimentarius		0.1^a

* Exceed the maximum permitted level of Codex Alimentarius.

^aMaximum permitted level root and tuber vegetables.

Figure 1. Concentration of lead (Pb) in potato chips samples

Cadmium concentrations in potato chips samples:

(Table 3) and (Figure 2) show the concentrations of cadmium in commercial brands of potato chips and the difference in concentration of Cadmium according to flavor. Results are expressed as the average of the triplicate analyses.

Table 3. Mean cadmium concentrations (mg/kg) of potato chips samples (Data are presented as means ± SD, n = 5)

Brand	Flavor	Cd
A	Salted	0.113 ± 0.0034*
	Cheese	0.07416 ± 0.0098
	Hot	0.06228 ± 0.0065
	Barbeque	0.05004 ± 0.0135
B	Salted	0.06716 ± 0.0108
	Cheese	0.08824 ± 0.0053
	Hot	0.08484 ± 0.004
	Barbeque	0.12336 ± 0.0025*
C	Salted	0.25456 ± 0.0068*
	Cheese	0.15188 ± 0.0023*
	Hot	0.27028 ± 0.0029*
	Barbeque	0.21184 ± 0.0025*
Permitted level by Codex Alimentarius		0.1^a

* Exceed the maximum permitted level of Codex Alimentarius.

^aMaximum permitted level root and tuber vegetables.

The concentrations of cadmium in potato chips were ranged between 0.03136 to 0.2733 mg/kg. Salted flavor of brand A, barbeque flavor of brand B and all samples of brand C exceeded the maximum permitted level for Cd by Codex Alimentarius¹⁸.

Figure 2. Concentration of Cadmium (Cd) in potato chips samples

The previous results show the difference between the concentrations of the studied elements according to the brand of potato chips and the difference in flavor for each group. This is consistent with previous studies conducted on potato chips and the effect of the difference in flavor on these elements.

Contamination of potato chip products with lead and cadmium may be attributed to contamination of raw materials involved in manufacturing, such as soil, the type of potatoes used, added seasoning, the manufacturing process, and contact with surfaces.

By applying the statistical analysis Kruskal-Wallis H test between the four flavors of potato chips, it is noted from the (Table 4) that there is statistical difference (H value > chi square) between flavors in the same brand, which indicates that the difference of lead and cadmium concentration caused by added seasoning. All p-values are less than 0.05 which mean the results are statistically significant.

Table 4. Statistical analysis between the four flavors of potato chips samples, (N=40, df=3, α=0.05)

Elment	Brand	Flavor	Mean ± SD	Min conc.	Max conc.	H value	chi square	p value
Elment	Brand	Flavor	mg/kg	mg/kg	mg/kg	H value	chi square	p value
Pb	A	Salted	0.0185 ± 0.0014	0.0165	0.0203	9.495	7.815	0.023
		Cheese	0.0156 ± 0.009	0.0144	0.0168
		Hot	0.0196 ± 0.0024	0.0163	0.0224
		Barbeque	0.0174 ± 0.0016	0.0156	0.0197
	B	Salted	0.035 ± 0.0046	0.0294	0.0404	15.945	7.815	0.001
		Cheese	0.0323 ± 0.0054	0.0254	0.0405
		Hot	0.0175 ± 0.0017	0.0155	0.0194
		Barbeque	0.1703 ± 0.0079	0.1612	0.1801
	C	Salted	0.0192 ± 0.0013	0.0177	0.0213	11.977	7.815	0.007
		Cheese	0.028 ± 0.0041	0.0221	0.0325
		Hot	0.0252 ± 0.0025	0.0217	0.0286
		Barbeque	0.028 ± 0.0029	0.0246	0.0322
Cd	A	Salted	0.113 ± 0.0034	0.1076	0.1162	14.431	7.815	0.002
		Cheese	0.0741 ± 0.0098	0.0595	0.0843
		Hot	0.0622 ± 0.0065	0.0521	0.0702
		Barbeque	0.05 ± 0.0135	0.0313	0.0641
	B	Salted	0.0671 ± 0.0108	0.0569	0.0832	15.192	7.815	0.001
		Cheese	0.0882 ± 0.0053	0.0828	0.0943
		Hot	0.0848 ± 0.004	0.0785	0.0886
		Barbeque	0.1233 ± 0.0025	0.1171	0.1295
	C	Salted	0.2545 ± 0.0068	0.2446	0.2623	17.655	7.815	0.0005
		Cheese	0.1518 ± 0.0023	0.1482	0.1546
		Hot	0.2702 ± 0.0029	0.2665	0.2733
		Barbeque	0.2118 ± 0.0025	0.2087	0.2152

CONCLUSION:

The results of the study showed that the Lead concentrations in potato chips samples did not exceed the permitted limit by Codex Alimentarius (0.1ppm), except for the barbeque flavor of brand B, which exceeded the permissible limit by average of 0.07 ppm of lead concentration.

Cadmium concentrations in all samples of brand C, Salted flavor of brand A and barbeque flavor of brand B has exceeded the permitted limit by Codex Alimentarius (0.1ppm). This may cause many health problems when consuming these products in large quantities especially for children, because these elements have the ability to accumulate in the body’s tissues and cause mental and growth problems¹⁹.

In addition, the statistical study showed that there were statistically significant differences between the studied flavor groups (p value < 0.05), which may indicate that the difference in the concentrations of the studied elements may be due to the added seasonings used by each brand.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST:

The authors have no conflicts of interest regarding this investigation.

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Received on 06.07.2024 Revised on 03.10.2024

Accepted on 09.12.2024 Published on 20.01.2025

Available online from January 27, 2025

Research J. Pharmacy and Technology. 2025;18(1):139-142.

DOI: 10.52711/0974-360X.2025.00021

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