Assessment of Heavy Metals Concentration and Microbial Profile in Sudanese Carbonated Soft Drinks and Beverages

The present study was conducted in the Faculty of Agriculture at Elnelien University during the period 2020 – 2022. The objective of the study was to determine the heavy metal and microbial profile of Sudanese carbonated soft drinks and beverages, and to determine whether they coincide with WHO (2011) standards. The data of samples were statistically analyzed by using the Complete Randomized Design (CRD), and the mean separation was done by the Least Significant Difference Test (LSDT). Firstly, Heavy metals recorded in soft drinks were Pb, and it was found in Sprite, Fanta, Pepsi and Miranda, and the values were above the permissible limit of 0.01 ppm, while in all companies, no Iron (Fe), Copper (Cu), Cadmium (Cd) and Chromium (Cr) metals were reported. Heavy metals recorded in beverages were Fe and Pb, and they were found below the permissible limit of 0.3 and 0.01, respectively, except for Pb content in Rio Mango, which was found to be above the permissible limit. In all beverages, no Copper (Cu), Cadmium (Cd), and Chromium (Cr) metals were reported. The microbial profile of soft drinks, beverages and water showed that total bacteria count, total fungal count, E. coli and Salmonella recorded negative results. It is concluded that no microbial hazards in the drinks. Therefore, it can be concluded that no microbial hazards in the beverages and waters. In case of soft drinks, the only heavy metal recorded was Pb and it was found in Sprite, Fanta, Pepsi and Miranda and the values were above the permissible limit, only heavy metals recorded in beverages were Fe and Pb and they were found below the permissible limit except Pb content in Rio Mango was found to be above the permissible limit. It was found that quality parameters in most soft drink samples were within the critical limit, so the net content end product quality parameters of all beverages and water are ok. It is recommended that more elaborate work be done on the general requirements of the food safety program.