Levels of metals (Cd, Pb, Cu and Fe) in cow’s milk, dairy products and hen’s eggs from the West Bank, Palestine

Heavy metal contents in 160 samples of commercially available cow’s milk (powder and liquid), dairy products (yoghurt, labaneh and white cheese) and hen’ eggs (conventional farms and courtyard farms) were investigated using GAAS. Mean concentrations of metals (μg/g) in milk and dairy samples analyzed ranged between 0.022-0.057 for Cd, ND-0.93 for Pb, 0.62-0.85 for Cu and 3.2-12.91 for Fe. Results indicated high concentrations of Pb and Cd especially in powder milk samples. The lowest concentrations of metals were found in white cheese followed by liquid milk. Mean metal concentrations (μg/g) in hen’s eggs were 0.021-0.049 for Cd, 0.06-0.48 for Pb, 2.29-3.26 for Cu and 15.25-33.52 for Fe. Hen’s eggs were found to contain significantly more Fe and Cu than milk or dairy products but generally less Pb and Cd. Finally, further investigations are needed to identify the cause of elevated Pb and Cd levels especially in milk and dairy products.