Paper Title
RISK ASSESSMENT OF TOXIC AND ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS IN EWE MILK AND MILK PRODUCTS FROM DIFFERENT FARMING IN SLOVAKIA
Abstract
This work aimed to evaluate the concentration of toxic and essential elements in sheep dairy products on organic
and conventional farms and risks/benefits of their. Raw sheep milk, whey, fermented sheep milk "zincica", sheep soft cheese
and sheep cheese "ostiepok" were analyzed for aluminium (Al), arsenic (As), barium (Ba), calcium (Ca), cadmium (Cd),
cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr) on both farms, iron (Fe), potassium (K), lithium (Li), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn),
molybdenum (Mo), sodium (Na), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), antimony (Sb), selenium (Se), strontium (Sr), and zinc (Zn) by
inductively-coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The results showed that the concentration of Al, Ni,
Sr in milk, Al, Ni, Sb, As in whey, and Al, Ni, As in fermented "zincica" milk were significantly higher on conventional
farm. The toxicological risk analysis revealed a significant contribution of milk consumption to the Provisional Tolerable
Weekly Intake (PTWI) of Asby 17.1% on the organic farm and 14.6% on the conventional farm. Pb concentrations in milk
exceeded the maximum limit set by the European Commission (EC). The highest concentrations of Na, Fe, Se on the organic
farm and Mg, Zn, Fe were found in „ostiepok“ on the conventional farm. Significantly higher concentrations of Ca in
fermented milk "zincica", Na in milk, Fe in whey and "zincica", Mn in whey, and Se in milk from conventional farm
compared to an organic farm. The most significant contribution to the intake of essential elements was found for Ca from the
"ostiepok" from a conventional farm which contributes by 15.7% to the Recommended Nutritional Dose (RND) and sheep's
cheese from an organic farm by 14.7% for adolescent girls. Based on the results, we conclude that it is necessary to monitor
the occurrence of As and Al in the dairy products of sheep from the study areas to reduce the risk of harm to the health of the
consumer. It is necessary to increase the consumption of sheep milk products that can provide a significant proportion of
essential elements.
Keywords - Milk, Sheep, Health Risk Assessment, Chemical Elements, Ecological, Conventional.