Assessment of Foodborne Disease Hazards in Beverages Consumed in Nigeria: A Systematic Literature Review

Risk assessment is a formal process of identifying hazards and assessing the risk associated with them (risk is a combination of the severity of illness and the probability of occurrence). This review highlights foodborne disease hazards reported in beverages consumed in Nigeria for the period between 2000 and 2020. Based on a preregistered protocol and search syntax, studies were retrieved from the PubMed, Google Scholar, and ScienceDirect databases. Rayyan QCRI software was used to screen the articles. Data were then extracted from the included full-text articles, into a standardized excel workbook. A total of 18,762 articles were identified, from which 126 were included in the final analyses. The common beverages studied were sachet water (14.9%), borehole/well water (13.9%), cereal-based beverages (12.1%), raw/fresh milk (8.3%) and nono/nunu, which is a fermented milk-cereal beverage (7.2%). Sufficient data were available to undertake pooled prevalence estimates for some hazards within select beverages and revealed contamination rates for Staphylococcus spp. in raw/fresh milk, 12.3% (95% CI 6.3–20.0); Salmonella spp. in borehole/well water, 19.8% (95% CI 13.1–27.4); Klebsiella spp. in sachet water, 40.0% (95% CI 12.4–71.7); Staphylococcus spp. in nono/nunu, 32.6% (95% CI 14.7–53.8), and Escherichia spp. in nono/nunu, 30.7% (95% CI 21.9–40.2). Heterogeneity was present in the aggregate summary estimates. This review has highlighted the presence of several hazards of high importance to public health in commonly consumed beverages in Nigeria. The data presented here provide an entry point for future quantitative risk assessments both to determine the level of exposure of the community to these hazards and also for the identification of the most effective mitigation strategies to reduce these risks and improve health outcomes in Nigeria.

Phytochemical Properties and Heavy Metal Contents of Commonly Consumed Alcoholic Beverages Flavouredwith Herbal Extract in Nigeria

There is proliferation of alcoholic beverages flavoured with herbal-extracts that are perceived to have medicinal values. Information on the phytochemical and heavy metal contents of these products is scarce. This study assessed the phytochemical properties and heavy metal contents of herbal-extract flavoured alcoholic beverages in major motor parks in Ibadan, Nigeria. The phytochemical properties of the beverages were determined in triplicate using standard methods, while the heavy metal contents were assessed while using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and means were compared using ANOVA at p < 0.05.The pH range of the beverages was 3.28–6.57 and the alcohol content was 34.0–51.5%. Detected major phytochemicals and concentration ranges were phytic acid (0.72–2.37 mg/g), alkaloids (0.42–4.11 mg/g), flavonoids (0.22–3.64 mg rutin equivalents/g), total phenols (1.13–3.66 mg gallic acid equivalents/g), anthraquinones (0.74–1.93 mg/g),and triterpenoids (0.74–1.93 mg/g). The heavy metal contents were Pb (2.13–4.70 mg/L), Cd (0.06–0.07 mg/L), Co (0.12–0.23 mg/L), Zn (0.14–0.40 mg/L), and Fe (0.72–4.22 mg/L); only Pb and Cd were above the World Health Organization (WHO) limits of 0.01 mg/L and 0.03 mg/L in water, respectively. The herbal-extract flavoured alcoholic beverages contain beneficial phytochemicals and traces of heavy metals. Safety awareness of these products for improved consumers’ health would be of public health importance.

A Review of Heavy Metal Concentration and Potential Health Implications of Beverages Consumed in Nigeria

Beverages are consumed in Nigeria irrespective of age, sex, and socioeconomic status. Beverages may be alcoholic (wine, spirits, and beers) or non-alcoholic (soft drink, energy drinks, candies, chocolates, milks). Notwithstanding, most beverages are packed in cans, bottles, and plastics. This paper reviews the concentration of heavy metals from some commercially-packaged beverages consumed in Nigeria. The study found that heavy metal concentrations, including iron, mercury, tin, antimony, cadmium, zinc, copper, chromium, lead, and manganese, seldom exceed the maximum contaminant level recommended by the Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) and the World Health Organization (WHO) as applicable to drinking water resources. The occurrence of heavy metals in the beverages could have resulted from the feedstocks and water used in their production. Consumption of beverages high in heavy metal could be toxic and cause adverse effect to human health, depending on the rate of exposure and accumulation dosage. This study concludes by suggesting that heavy metal concentration in the feedstocks and water should be monitored by producers, and its concentration in beverages should also be monitored by appropriate regulatory agencies.

Determination of some heavy metal levels in soft drinks on the Ghanaian market using atomic absorption spectrometry method

Twenty-three soft drink samples (i.e., four pineapple-based fruit drinks, eight citrus-based fruit juices, one soya-based drink, three cola carbonated drinks, one apple-based fruit drink, and six cocktail fruit drinks) were randomly purchased from retail outlets in an urban market in Accra and analyzed for the concentrations of iron, cobalt, cadmium, zinc, lead, and copper using flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The mean concentration of iron and cadmium were 0.723 ± 0.448 mg/L and 0.032 ± 0.012 mg/L, respectively. The mean cobalt concentration was 0.071 ± 0.049 mg/L, while the mean Zn concentration in the samples was 0.060 ± 0.097 mg/L. The mean concentrations of Pb and Cu in the fruit juice samples were 0.178 ± 0.091 mg/L and 0.053 ± 0.063 mg/L respectively. About 78 % of the samples exceeded the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) maximum contaminant level of 0.3 mg/L prescribed for iron, whereas all the samples exceeded the USEPA maximum contaminant level of 0.005 mg/L prescribed for cadmium. About 91 % of the samples exceeded the EU maximum contaminant level prescribed for lead insoft drinks.

Analysis of mineral and heavy metal content of some commercial fruit juices by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

The presence of potentially toxic elements and compounds in foodstuffs is of intense public interest and thus requires rapid and accurate methods to determine the levels of these contaminants. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry is a powerful tool for the determination of metals and nonmetals in fruit juices. In this study, 21 commercial fruit juices (apple, peach, apricot, orange, kiwi, pear, pineapple, and multifruit) present on Romanian market were investigated from the heavy metals and mineral content point of view by ICP-MS. Our obtained results were compared with those reported in literature and also with the maximum admissible limit in drinking water by USEPA and WHO. For Mn the obtained values exceeded the limits imposed by these international organizations. Co, Cu, Zn, As, and Cd concentrations were below the acceptable limit for drinking water for all samples while the concentrations of Ni and Pb exceeded the limits imposed by USEPA and WHO for some fruit juices. The results obtained in this study are comparable to those found in the literature.

Evaluation of potential dietary toxicity of heavy metals in some common Nigerian beverages: A look at antimony, tin and mercury

There is currently little information on the composition of heavy metals in beverages imported and locally produced in Nigeria. The study quantitatively determined the composition of antimony (Sb), tin (Sn) and mercury (Hg) in 50 different beverage samples and evaluated the extent of violation of guideline values. Analysis of the beverage samples for the presence of Sb, Sn, and Hg was carried out using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) 929. The mean values detected for mercury, tin and antimony (±SE) in fruit juices and soft drinks were 2.39±0.25, 3.66±0.22 and 0.49±0.048 μg/l; 2.93±0.34, 3.60±0.46 and 0.49±0.10 μg/l in dairy drinks and 0.94±0.02, 4.34±0.48 and 0.48±0.05 μg/l in bottled water samples respectively. While antimony detected in all products was below guideline values, mercury and tin were above the acceptable levels established by the World Health Organization, United States Environmental Protection Agency and European Union in most samples tested.

Vitamin D receptor gene methylation is associated with ethnicity, tuberculosis, and TaqI polymorphism

The Vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene encodes a transcription factor which, on activation by vitamin D, modulates diverse biologic processes, including calcium homeostasis and immune function. Genetic variation involving VDR shows striking differences in allele frequency between populations and has been associated with disease susceptibility, including tuberculosis and autoimmunity, although results have often been conflicting. We hypothesized that methylation of VDR may be population specific and that the combination of differential methylation and genetic variation may characterize tuberculosis (TB) predisposition. We use bisulfite conversion and/or pyrosequencing to analyze the methylation status of 17 CpGs of VDR and to genotype 7 SNPs in the 3' CpG Island (CpG island [CGI] 1060), including the commonly studied SNPs ApaI (rs7975232) and TaqI (rs731236). We show that, for lymphoblastoid cell lines from two ethnically diverse populations (Yoruba from HapMap, n = 30 and Caucasians, n = 30) together with TB cases (n = 32) and controls (n = 29) from the Venda population of South Africa, there are methylation variable positions in the 3' end that significantly distinguish ethnicity (9/17 CpGs) and TB status (3/17 CpGs). Moreover, methylation status shows complex association with TaqI genotype highlighting the need to consider both genetic and epigenetic variants in genetic studies of VDR association with disease.

Heavy metal exposure from personal care products

Numerous studies have described human exposure to heavy metals from diverse sources in Nigeria, but little is known about the exposure from personal care products, and few or no report is available on the personal care product concentrations of cadmium, chromium, copper and zinc, which have biotic effects. The levels of these elements were determined in 74 samples of 5 different classes of personal care products commonly used in Nigeria using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Significant levels of Cd, Cr, Cu and Zn were found in all the products. The highest values of Cd (0.553 ppm) and Cu (0.783 ppm) were observed in hair cream, while medicated cream was mostly implicated for Cr (0.383 ppm) and Zn (0.793 ppm). Since no limit relating to cosmetic products is available, it is difficult to ascertain if the values of metals obtained in this study are too high or low; but Cd and Cr are prohibited in any amount in cosmetics. Prolonged use of soaps and creams containing these elements may pose threat to human health and the environment.

Heavy metal hazards of pediatric syrup administration in Nigeria: a look at chromium, nickel and manganese

Fifty different pediatric syrups were randomly sampled from patent medicine stores and pharmaceutical shops within Awka (Anambra State, Nigeria) between November 2007 and May 2008. Syrups were ashed before digestion using conc. aqua regia, HCl: HNO₃ (3:1). Chromium, nickel and manganese were assayed with AAS 205A. The highest levels of nickel were seen in Magcid suspension (4.13 mg/L) and Gaviron (0.79 mg/L) whereas lowest levels were found in Asco–J vitamin and Jawaron Syrup (0.01 mg/L). About 44.1, 73.6 and 20.6% of the sampled syrups made in Nigeria had non detectable levels of nickel, chromium and manganese respectively. Chromium levels ranged from 0.01 mg/L in Magcid suspension to 0.58 mg/L in emvite. Ferobin and Jawaron Syrup plus had 28.23 and 4.37 mg/L manganese, respectively. With the exception of Cephalexin Syrup, all the imported syrups had non detectable levels of chromium. The level of chromium in Cephalexin Syrup was 0.01 mg/L. About 68.8 and 43.7% of these imported syrups had non-detectable levels of nickel and manganese respectively. Nickel levels ranged from 0.01–0.09 mg/L in the imported syrups. Haemoglobin Syrup showed highest level of manganese of 0.36 mg/L whereas the lowest concentration was 0.02 mg/L in Cadiphen. Taken together the Nigerian made syrup samples had higher concentrations of the studied heavy metals. It is feared that ingestion of these syrups may constitute a significant source of heavy metal exposure to the children and should therefore be considered a public health problem. The public health hazards from ingestion of these syrups should be identified and disclosed by in-depth risk assessment studies.