US EPA

1344559 

Journal Article 

Heavy Metals Contamination of Table Salt Consumed in Iran 

Cheraghali, AM; Kobarfard, F; Faeizy, N 

2010 

1 

Iranian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research
ISSN: 1735-0328
EISSN: 1726-6890 

9 

2 

129-132 

English 

24363718 

WOS:000278761000006 

Lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic are the most important
heavy metals which may cause health risks following consumption of contaminated foods. Table salt
is one the mostly used food additive with unique place in food consumption. Although purified
table salt is expected to have lower level of contamination, some Iranians still prefer to use
rock salt. Use of rock salt for food purposes has been banned by Iranian health authorities. In
this study, heavy metal contamination of table salt consumed in Iran has been investigated. One
hundred samples of rock and refined table salts were analyzed using atomic absorption
spectrophotometeric methods for the presence of toxic heavy metals. The mean concentration of
tested tracer metals including Cd, Pb, Hg and As was 0.024, 0.438, 0.021 and 0.094 mu g/g,
respectively. The concentrations of tested heavy metals were well below the maximum levels set by
Codex. However, no statistically significant difference was found between contamination of rock
salt and refined salt to heavy metals. 

Table salt; Rock salt; Heavy metal contamination; Iran