DETERMINATION OF COPPER, LEAD, CADMIUM AND ZINC IN SPICES, PRODUCED IN GEORGIA, BY THE DIFFERENTIAL – IMPULSE POLAROGRAPHY METHOD

As in the previous study, we continued the investigation of heavy metal content (copper, lead, cadmium, and zinc) in spices produced in Georgia. A two-year study showed that spices produced in Georgia are clean. Copper concentrations slightly exceeded the permissible limit in only a few samples. Lead was either entirely absent (in the majority of samples analyzed) or present in trace amounts that did not exceed the maximum allowable concentration. Cadmium was absent in all samples. However, in nearly all samples, zinc levels significantly exceeded the limit established by the World Health Organization. Previously, we cautiously hypothesized that zinc enters the human body not only through zinc-containing supplements, which became especially popular during the COVID-19 pandemic. The two-year study of heavy metal content in spices produced in Georgia confirmed that, in addition to supplements, spices are also a source of zinc intake in the human body.