Assessment of Some Heavy Metals Contamination in Some Vegetable and Canned Foods: A Review

Heavy metal depositions are associated with a wide range of sources such as small-scale industries including (battery production, metal products, metal smelting and cable coating industries), vehicular emissions, resuspended road dust and diesel generator sets. Such problem is getting more serious all over the world especially in developing countries. Heavy metals in general are not biodegradable, have long biological half- life and have the potential for accumulation in different body organs leading to unwanted side effects.

Vegetables are vital to human diet as they contain essential components needed by the human body such as carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals and also trace elements. Consumption of vegetables is one of the pathways by which heavy metals enter the food chain. In order to eliminate the surface pollution from vegetable thoroughly effective washing must be done with clean water. It is clear from this study that even motor vehicle emissions can be a source of heavy metal contamination in vegetables at road side market. Vegetable farms must be irrigated with safe water, avoiding industrial effluents and sewage disposals.

Keywords:  heavy metals, vegetable and canned foods