Assessment of essential and potentially toxic metals in raw cow milk from Mukaturi town, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia

Cow milk is a complete and highly nutritious source of food for humans. However, the quality of milk products has become a significant health concern for consumers, particularly infants and children, in many developing nations, including Ethiopia. The objective of this study was to determine the heavy metal levels in raw cow milk collected from dairy producers and collection centers in Mukaturi town, Ethiopia. Sixty raw cow milk samples (40.0 milk samples from dairy farms and 20.0 milk samples from collection centers) were randomly collected and digested using a mixture of nitric acid (HNO3), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and perchloric acid (HClO4) on a hot plate. The amounts of heavy metals (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in the milk samples were determined using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). The findings showed that the average concentrations of Pb (2.31 +/- 0.127), Fe (0.566 +/- 0.130), Ni (0.210 +/- 0.0189), Cd (0.0372 +/- 0.0230), Cr (0.369 +/- 0.0162), and Co (0.225 +/- 0.0150) in mgL-1 were higher than the allowable limits. This could pose a health risk to the public. However, the concentrations of Mn (0.044 +/- 0.0369), Cu (0.195 +/- 0.0450) and Zn (2.90 +/- 0.0570) in mg L-1 were lower than or within the recommended limits and cannot pose any threat to consumers. The validity of the digestion processes was checked by the recovery test. The percentage recoveries of Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn were found to be in the range of 80.7-122 %, which is within the acceptable range. Therefore, special attention should be given to the continuous monitoring of heavy metal levels in raw milk among dairy producers and collection centers to minimize economic losses and the risk to consumer safety.