Heavy metals in milk: global prevalence and health risk assessment

Abstract

Heavy metal toxicity is linked with a number of diseases but the severity of situation multiplies too many folds if these heavy metals are found in milk, which is the basic food item of vulnerable age group of people. In this review article, the toxic impacts of different heavy metals on human health, their sources in milk, detection methods, and regulatory limits for heavy metals in milk are described. This study also emphasizes the prevalence level of different heavy metals in milk samples from different parts of world reported during the years 2011–2016 and the strategies to control the level of heavy metals in milk below the permissible limits will also be discussed.

Keywords:

• Milk
• vulnerable
• health
• toxic
• regulatory
• prevalence

Acknowledgements

This review article is a part of the PhD studies of Mr. Amir Ismail carried out under the supervision of Dr. Muhammad Riaz, Institute of Food Science & Nutrition, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan. The Higher Education Commission, Islamabad is acknowledged for financial support under the Project # 20-1932 titled Safety Status of Street Vended Raw Milk in Southern Punjab.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.