Health risk assessment of As and Zn in canola and soybean oils consumed in Kermanshah, Iran

Due to the limited number of researches conducted globally on heavy metals in edible oil, this study was carried out for analysis and health risk assessment of As and Zn in some brands of canola and soybean oils marketed in Kermanshah City, Iran, in 2015. In this research, 18 samples of three popular brands of edible oil (canola and soybean) in the Iranian market were analyzed for levels of As and Zn after digestion with acids using atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) in 3 replications and the health index was obtained. In addition, all statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS statistical package. The results showed that the mean concentrations of As and Zn in oil samples were 0.06 ± 0.05 and 100.17 ± 21.94 µg/kg, respectively. Moreover, the mean concentration of As and Zn in oil samples were lower than the World Health Organization’s (WHO) maximum permissible limits (MPL). The health risk assessment showed no potential risk for children and adults by consumption of the studied vegetable oil samples. Although the results showed that the consumption of the analyzed vegetable oils did not have any adverse effects on the consumers’ health, concerning increased use of agricultural inputs by farmers and industrial development, it is very important that the appropriate measures be taken by companies during the production process and products be treated before marketing.