Assessment of Metal Levels in Fresh Milk from Cows Grazed around Challawa Industrial Estate of Kano, Nigeria

Milk is a very important component of human diet. The presence of toxic element in milk may create significant health problems. In this study, metal levels of fresh cow milk were determined. Fresh milk samples were collected from 17 cows grazed around challawa industrial estate, Kano and 9 cows grazed on open fields in Zaria, Kaduna state. Metal levels were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer after wet digestion. The result shows the mean concentration of Al, Mn, Ni, Cu, Cd, Pb, Cr, Fe, and Zn in samples from Kano to be 10.1318, 1.78824, 30.1329, 2.52, 1.63176, 5.50176, 17.5669, 50.8735, and 32.3876 respectively. The mean concentrations of these metals in samples from Zaria were 6.246667, 2.19, 20.97111, 2.13667, 0.98667, 7.09778, 15.683, 32.37778, and 55.21333 respectively. The concentrations were very high as the metal levels of both Kano and Zaria samples exceeded the WHO permissible limits. Except for Pb, Zn and Mn, metal levels of cow milk from Kano were higher than those obtained from Zaria, though the result indicated no statistically significant difference between them. The implication of the results obtained to public health was discussed.