Public Health Implications of Toxic Heavy Metals: Lead (Pb) and Cadmium (Cd) in Common Street Vended Foods Consumed in Bayelsa State, Nigeria

Aim: Over the years, Street Vended Foods (SVFs) had gained prominence because they are ready-to-eat and very affordable. As such, they serve as a convenient source of processed foods with dissimilar options. However, the safety and security of SVFs is so alarming due to environmental contaminants, unhygienic practice of vendors as well as the vending site. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate the levels of Lead and Cadmium in some Street Vended Foods from Yenagoa, Amassoma and Ogbia communities in Bayelsa State, Nigeria and analyze its health implications via oral ingestion to the general public. Study Design: This study involves cross- sectional design in which fifteen (15) SVFs samples were collected from three communities namely; Yenagoa, Amassoma and Ogbia. Samples were oven dried at 105 °C to a constant weight, ground, sieved into a uniform particle size and digested with Aqua ragia (HNO3/HCl- 3:1 v/v). This study was carried out in the Central Research Laboratory, Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Niger Delta University, between March 2024- May 2024. Methodology: The concentrations (mg/kg dry weight basis) of Pb and Cd from the digested biomass of the SVFs were analyzed with Thermo-Elemental Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer(FAAS). Results: The concentrations of Pb in the 15 SVFs studied were all higher that threshold limits of Joint Food and Agricultural Organization/ World Health Organization (FAO/WHO) and Codex Alimentarius Commission but, Cd concentrations were below their standard limits (0.1 mg/kg). Analysis of variance shows significant differences (p = 0.01 and 0.02) in the levels of Pb and Cd across the three communities among the SVFs. The human health risk exposure assessment indicates no carcinogenic risk at the moment. However, the carcinogenic risk assessment revealed that most of the SVFs samples exceeded the threshold values of 10E-04– 10E-06. Therefore, daily/regular consumption of Street Vended Foods should be discouraged.