Estimation of lead and copper residues in sheep, goat milks and Karish cheese

Seham El-Badry and Amal Raslan

Abstract

Dairy products are considered as one of important foods in the human diet. They are good source of protein, fat, and major minerals. Heavy metals are persistent toxic chemicals that have a public health concern. Milk of small ruminants such as sheep and goat is considered as a very important source for animal-derived protein in many Arabian countries and Egypt. However, studying the heavy metal load in milk of small ruminant had received less attention. Thus, this study aimed to estimate the residual concentrations of lead (Pb) and copper (Cu) in milk of sheep, goat' milk and cheese manufactured from sheep milk. The public health importance of the existed metals was also discussed. All examined samples had Pb concentrations higher than the maximum permissible limits (MPL) set by WHO/FAO. Similarly, goat milk samples had Cu concentrations higher than MPL, while in case of sheep 70% and 90% of examined milk and cheese samples had Cu levels higher than MPL.

Key words

goat's milk, karish cheese, sheep's milk, copper, lead.