Concentration of Potentially Toxic Elements (PTEs) in Rapid Coffee Products in Bandar Abbas, Iran: Probabilistic Non-Carcinogenic and Carcinogenic Risk Assessment

Coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world. However, coffee plants are often exposed to potentially toxic elements (PTEs) pollution. The main aims of current study were to detect the PTEs in instant coffee and health risk assessment of consumers in Bandar Abbas city. To achieve this, 40 samples of instant coffee were randomly collected from various points in the city in 2023 and PTEs concentrations were measured using flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). The non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks were calculated using Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) method. The concentrations of Fe and Cu were higher than other PTEs, equaling 404.41 mg/kg and 0.0046 mg/kg, respectively. The non-carcinogenic risk assessment revealed that THQ (Fe > Pb > As > Cd > Ni > Cu) and TTHQ levels were less than 1 based on the 95% percentile in adults and children, indicating there is no possibility of a non-carcinogenic risk associated with instant coffee. The carcinogenic risk due to inorganic As in instant coffee was acceptable (2.63E-5 and 1.27E-5 based on the 95% percentile for adults and children, respectively), therefore PTEs in instant coffee do not endanger the health of consumers.