Levels of Cadmium and Lead in raw cow and buffalo s milk samples collected from local markets of El-Behera Governorate

Heavy metal contents in 30 samples of commercially available cow’s and buffalo s milk (fifteen each) were investigated using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Mean concentrations of Cadmium and lead (ppm) in cow s milk were 0.0978 ± 0.01948 and 0.3425 ± 0.03980 respectively, while the mean concentration of Cadmium in buffalo s milk was 0.1892 ± 0.01239 ppm and the mean concentration of lead in buffalo s milk was 0.4854 ± 0.05043 ppm. Results indicated high concentrations of Cadmium and Lead especially in buffalo s milk samples. The lowest concentrations of metals were found in cow s milk. The present study revealed that 24 (80%) of the examined samples were above the permissible limits of Egyptian Standards (1993) and 6 (20%) of the examined samples were within the permissible limits. Finally, further investigations are needed to identify the cause of elevated Cadmium and lead levels especially in buffalo s milk.