Dietary exposure of the adult Croatian population to meat, liver and meat products from the Croatian market: Health risk assessment

Abstract This is a comprehensive study of the macronutrient, toxic and non-essential element concentrations in 22 meat, liver and meat products from the Croatian market. The highest mean content of Fe, Mn, Zn and Mo were measured in pork liver, while Ag, Co, Cu and V were highest in bovine liver. Pâtes contain the highest concentrations of Al, Ba, Cd, Ni and Se, while salami products had the highest As, Ca, Cr, K and Pb. Pork meat and pork canned products contained the highest Hg and Mg levels. Using the tolerable daily intake for Cu, Fe, and Zn, and minimal risk levels for Se to check for potential risk, higher exposure was found only in the case of P95 consumers for Fe in liver and Se in meat products. Also, P95 consumers face an exposure to risk since the concentrations of Cd and Co in liver and of Al and Cd in meat products exceeded the toxicological limits. Meat, liver and meat products can be considered safe for adult consumers based on the low contributions to toxicological limits for As, Ba, Cr, Hg, Ni and Pb.