Dietary exposure assessment to nickel through the consumption of poultry, beef, and pork meat for different age groups in the Italian population

Dietary risk assessment for toxic elements focuses on those listed by Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915. However, new toxicological evidence suggests expanding research to other elements, including nickel. Classified as carcinogenic by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, nickel expos...

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Main Authors: Alessio Manfredi, Maria Olga Varrà, Emanuela Zanardi, Maria Vitellino, Mariantonietta Peloso, Patrizio Lorusso, Sergio Ghidini, Elisabetta Bonerba, Damiano Accurso
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: PAGEPress Publications 2025-07-01
Series:Italian Journal of Food Safety
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Online Access:https://www.pagepressjournals.org/ijfs/article/view/13840
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author Alessio Manfredi
Maria Olga Varrà
Emanuela Zanardi
Maria Vitellino
Mariantonietta Peloso
Patrizio Lorusso
Sergio Ghidini
Elisabetta Bonerba
Damiano Accurso
author_facet Alessio Manfredi
Maria Olga Varrà
Emanuela Zanardi
Maria Vitellino
Mariantonietta Peloso
Patrizio Lorusso
Sergio Ghidini
Elisabetta Bonerba
Damiano Accurso
author_sort Alessio Manfredi
collection DOAJ
description Dietary risk assessment for toxic elements focuses on those listed by Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915. However, new toxicological evidence suggests expanding research to other elements, including nickel. Classified as carcinogenic by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, nickel exposure mainly occurs through food and water. In individuals with hypersensitivity, oral exposure to this element may trigger symptoms ranging from dermatitis to systemic nickel allergy syndrome. Based on this evidence, the European Food Safety Authority set a tolerable daily intake (TDI) of 13 μg/kg bw/day, recommending further data collection to establish maximum levels in food. In this study, nickel occurrence was evaluated in 809 muscle meat samples (poultry, beef, and pork). Statistical analysis was conducted to identify differences in mean concentrations among the different meat types. Moreover, contamination levels of nickel were used to assess the dietary exposure of different age groups of Italian consumers through meat consumption, providing a comprehensive risk characterization. Toddlers were the most exposed age group, while the elderly were the least exposed. Across all age groups, exposure levels followed the pattern: pork > poultry > beef. Generally, meat consumption contributed less than 1% of the nickel TDI for all the age groups. In particular, the highest contribution to the TDI, equal to 0.86%, was associated with the consumption of pork by toddlers. Therefore, data from this study suggest that nickel contamination in poultry, beef, and pork has a minimal impact on human exposure, posing a negligible risk to public health.
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spelling doaj-art-e909094cc68a48eb9a57ae7aec72056e2025-08-20T03:34:46ZengPAGEPress PublicationsItalian Journal of Food Safety2239-71322025-07-0110.4081/ijfs.2025.13840Dietary exposure assessment to nickel through the consumption of poultry, beef, and pork meat for different age groups in the Italian populationAlessio Manfredi0Maria Olga Varrà1Emanuela Zanardi2Maria Vitellino3Mariantonietta Peloso4Patrizio Lorusso5Sergio Ghidini6Elisabetta Bonerba7Damiano Accurso8Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari Aldo Moro, ValenzanoDepartment of Food and Drug, University of ParmaDepartment of Food and Drug, University of ParmaFood Chemical Department, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia-Romagna “B. Ubertini”, BolognaFood Chemical Department, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia-Romagna “B. Ubertini”, BolognaDepartment of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari Aldo Moro, ValenzanoDepartment of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, University of Milan, LodiDepartment of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari Aldo Moro, ValenzanoFood Chemical Department, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia-Romagna “B. Ubertini”, Bologna Dietary risk assessment for toxic elements focuses on those listed by Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915. However, new toxicological evidence suggests expanding research to other elements, including nickel. Classified as carcinogenic by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, nickel exposure mainly occurs through food and water. In individuals with hypersensitivity, oral exposure to this element may trigger symptoms ranging from dermatitis to systemic nickel allergy syndrome. Based on this evidence, the European Food Safety Authority set a tolerable daily intake (TDI) of 13 μg/kg bw/day, recommending further data collection to establish maximum levels in food. In this study, nickel occurrence was evaluated in 809 muscle meat samples (poultry, beef, and pork). Statistical analysis was conducted to identify differences in mean concentrations among the different meat types. Moreover, contamination levels of nickel were used to assess the dietary exposure of different age groups of Italian consumers through meat consumption, providing a comprehensive risk characterization. Toddlers were the most exposed age group, while the elderly were the least exposed. Across all age groups, exposure levels followed the pattern: pork > poultry > beef. Generally, meat consumption contributed less than 1% of the nickel TDI for all the age groups. In particular, the highest contribution to the TDI, equal to 0.86%, was associated with the consumption of pork by toddlers. Therefore, data from this study suggest that nickel contamination in poultry, beef, and pork has a minimal impact on human exposure, posing a negligible risk to public health. https://www.pagepressjournals.org/ijfs/article/view/13840Nickelpoultry meatbeef meatpork meatrisk characterization
spellingShingle Alessio Manfredi
Maria Olga Varrà
Emanuela Zanardi
Maria Vitellino
Mariantonietta Peloso
Patrizio Lorusso
Sergio Ghidini
Elisabetta Bonerba
Damiano Accurso
Dietary exposure assessment to nickel through the consumption of poultry, beef, and pork meat for different age groups in the Italian population
Italian Journal of Food Safety
Nickel
poultry meat
beef meat
pork meat
risk characterization
title Dietary exposure assessment to nickel through the consumption of poultry, beef, and pork meat for different age groups in the Italian population
title_full Dietary exposure assessment to nickel through the consumption of poultry, beef, and pork meat for different age groups in the Italian population
title_fullStr Dietary exposure assessment to nickel through the consumption of poultry, beef, and pork meat for different age groups in the Italian population
title_full_unstemmed Dietary exposure assessment to nickel through the consumption of poultry, beef, and pork meat for different age groups in the Italian population
title_short Dietary exposure assessment to nickel through the consumption of poultry, beef, and pork meat for different age groups in the Italian population
title_sort dietary exposure assessment to nickel through the consumption of poultry beef and pork meat for different age groups in the italian population
topic Nickel
poultry meat
beef meat
pork meat
risk characterization
url https://www.pagepressjournals.org/ijfs/article/view/13840
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