Quantification and Reduction in Heavy Metal Residues in Some Fruits and Vegetables: A Case Study Galați County, Romania
Florin Dumitru Bora,
Andrea Bunea,
Sergiu Rudolf Pop,
Sabin Ioan Baniță,
Dorin Ştefan Duşa,
Alexandra Chira,
Claudiu-Ioan Bunea
Affiliations
Florin Dumitru Bora
Viticulture and Oenology Department, Advanced Horticultural Research Institute of Transylvania, Faculty of Horticulture and Business in Rural Development, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, 3-5 Mănăștur Street, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Andrea Bunea
Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Animal Science and Biotechnology, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, 3-5 Mănăștur Street, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Sergiu Rudolf Pop
Viticulture and Oenology Department, Advanced Horticultural Research Institute of Transylvania, Faculty of Horticulture and Business in Rural Development, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, 3-5 Mănăștur Street, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Sabin Ioan Baniță
Viticulture and Oenology Department, Advanced Horticultural Research Institute of Transylvania, Faculty of Horticulture and Business in Rural Development, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, 3-5 Mănăștur Street, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Dorin Ştefan Duşa
National Office of Vine and Wine Products, Şoseau Iancului, No. 49, Sector 2, 021719 Bucharest, Romania
Alexandra Chira
Department of Internal Medicine, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 2nd Medical Clinic, Emergency Clinical County Hospital, 8 Victor Babes Street, 400347 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Claudiu-Ioan Bunea
Viticulture and Oenology Department, Advanced Horticultural Research Institute of Transylvania, Faculty of Horticulture and Business in Rural Development, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, 3-5 Mănăștur Street, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
One of the main issues for sustainable global development with high priority is food security. The negative effects of contaminants on crop quality have threatened both food security and human health. Long-term heavy metal exposure from food, drinking water, or other occupational sources causes serious problems, such as kidney failure, hepatotoxicity, and neurotoxicity. This study was conducted to determine the concentrations of three toxic trace elements (As, Cd, Pb) and one microelement (Zn) in fruits and vegetables using ICP-MS, and it also sought to reduce the concentrations of metals by washing with vinegar (5% and 10% acetic acid). The potential of vinegar to influence heavy metal contents may be due to its effect on pH values that influence the solution chemistry of the heavy metals, such as hydrolysis, redox reactions, precipitation, and availability of heavy metals. Sample origin has a significant influence in terms of metal accumulation; values up to 35%, 68%, 67%, and 3% lower were recorded in the case samples originating from amateur farmers (for As, Cd, Pb, and Zn, respectively). Regarding the efficiency of the vinegar, As and Zn recorded levels up to 8% lower for samples washed with 10% vinegar, and Cd showed levels up to 20% lower for samples washed with 10% vinegar, while Pb did not register any differences.
