Determination of Trace Elements by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) in Poultry Eggs from Jiangxi Province, China and the Corresponding Health Risk

Abstract

The Cr, Mn, Cu, Se, Ni, As, Hg, Cd, Pb, Zn, and Fe levels in chicken, duck, and quail eggs from Jiangxi Province were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), and the potential risks to human health were evaluated. The levels of trace elements from Jiangxi Province were not above the Chinese national standard. The target hazard quotient (THQ) values for the elements and total THQ for a combination of trace elements were <1, suggesting the absence of health risk from trace elements. The carcinogenic risks (CRs) of As, Cd, Cr, and Pb in all egg samples were negligible or within the acceptable range. These results demonstrate that trace element levels in eggs from Jiangxi Province of China were low and not associated with human health risk. In addition, levels of Fe and Zn were higher in quail eggs (30,166 and 172,356 μg·kg⁻¹), chicken eggs (19,919 and 13,081 μg·kg⁻¹), and duck eggs (27,123 and 14,422 μg·kg⁻¹), suggesting that poultry eggs are good sources of trace elements essential to human health.

Keywords:

• Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)
• poultry eggs
• risk assessment
• target hazard quotient (THQ)
• trace elements

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Risk Assessment of Quality and Safety of Livestock and Poultry Products and China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment (GJFP20220301; GJFP20210304; GJFP2019024).