Public health risk assessment of heavy metal contamination in ready to eat snails in Umuahia, Abia State, Nigeria

The recent increase in the acceptance of snails as meat in different parts of Nigeria is mostly due to their nutritional and health benefits. The feeding pattern of these snails and their habitat are factors predisposing them to come in contact with pollutants that include heavy metals. Upon consumption of such contaminated snails, these heavy metals get transferred to humans. This study was aimed at determining the heavy metal concentration in ready-to-eat snails (RTE) and assessing their potential health risk. Thirty RTE snails were purchased from 5 different eateries and analyzed for their heavy metal content using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) according to standard technique. Data were presented using mean ± SEM and analysed by ANOVA. The Daily intake of metal (DIM), Hazard quotient of metal to human (HQ) and Hazard index (HI) were assessed to determine any potential health risk. The mean concentrations of Pb, Cd, Zn, Cu and Fe were all above the recommended levels by WHO/FAO. The mean concentration of Pb, Cd, Cu and Fe did not vary significantly between the locations (p>0.05) but there was a significant variation in the concentration of Zn among RTE snails within the locations. The DIM for Cd, Pb and Cu was greater than the oral reference dose of 0.001, 0.004 and 0.004 respectively. The HI index for the locations was greater than one (HI > 1). In this study, the heavy metal concentration, the DMI, HQ and HI values observed in this study reveals a potential health hazard to consumers of RTE snails.