Histamnie and Chemical Composition of Canned and Frozen Green Pea (Pisum sativum)

The subject of heavy metals is receiving increasing scrutiny in food industry due to increasing incidents of contamination in agriculture and industrial sources. Metals like iron, copper, zinc, cobalt and manganese are essential metals since they play an important role in biological systems. Due to vast green pea consumption by people in this research the concentration of histamine, some trace and essential mineral and also heavy metals has been determined in 120 samples of popular brands of canned and frozen green pea samples in 2014. These samples (60 of them were canned and the rest were frozen) were collected from different local markets of Tehran, Iran. For reliable, accurate and precise measurements, all canned and frozen samples had the same date of producing. Samples were randomly purchased for analysis and analyzed according to standardized international protocols by wet digestion method. Histamine content was determined by Capillary Electrophoresis while metals were determined by Atomic absorption spectrometer. The results obtained revealed that, the mean ranges of the elements analyzed in (mg kg(-1)) between the frozen and canned food are as follows: Fe (48.34 - 150.11), Zn (20.17 - 31.14), Cu (12.22 - 18.03), Ca (1899 - 9524), Mg (1209 - 1544), Na (8114 - 18300), Sn (55.73-328.5) respectively. Some of the measured values found, not only relatively high in canned compared to frozen food samples, but also exceeds the international tolerance levels. Histamine in 15% of samples was higher than permissible level. The monitoring of mineral and heavy metals in frozen and canned food samples is vital important challenge to control and improve the food industry strategies.