Heavy metals in unrecorded Albanian rakia: A pilot study on a potential public health risk
Unrecorded alcohol has been linked to illness above and beyond that caused by ethanol alone because of the presence of toxic contaminants. While it can be found in all countries, consumption is high in Albania, where it is frequently consumed as a fruit brandy known as rakia. Among the contaminants...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Heliyon |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844023009246 |
| _version_ | 1797851904949092352 |
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| author | Teuta Muhollari Sándor Szűcs Zsófi Sajtos Martin McKee Edina Baranyai Róza Ádány László Pál |
| author_facet | Teuta Muhollari Sándor Szűcs Zsófi Sajtos Martin McKee Edina Baranyai Róza Ádány László Pál |
| author_sort | Teuta Muhollari |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Unrecorded alcohol has been linked to illness above and beyond that caused by ethanol alone because of the presence of toxic contaminants. While it can be found in all countries, consumption is high in Albania, where it is frequently consumed as a fruit brandy known as rakia. Among the contaminants identified previously in such products, metals including lead have been detected at levels posing a risk to health but there is little information on their presence in rakia. To fill this gap, we measured the level of ethanol and 24 elements among them toxic metals in 30 Albanian rakia samples. We found that 63.3% of rakia samples had ethanol concentration above 40% v/v. We also showed that there was a significant difference between the measured [mean: 46.7% v/v, interquartile range (IQR): 43.4–52.1% v/v] and reported (mean: 18.9% v/v, IQR: 17.0–20.0% v/v) concentrations of ethanol in rakia. Among the metals detected, aluminium, copper, iron, manganese, lead, and zinc were present in rakia samples at concentrations ranging between 0.013 and 0.866 mg/l of pure alcohol (pa), 0.025–31.629 mg/l of pa, 0.004–1.173 mg/l of pa, 0.185–45.244 mg/l of pa, 0.044–1.337 mg/l of pa, and 0.004–10.156 mg/l of pa, respectively. Copper and lead were found to be the greatest concern posing a potential public health risk. Although the estimated daily intake of these heavy metals from unrecorded rakia was below their toxicological threshold, the concentrations of lead and copper exceeded their limit value of 0.2 and 2.0 mg/l of pa specified for spirits in 33% and 90% of samples, respectively. Therefore, the possibility of adverse health effects cannot be excluded completely. Our findings highlight the need for action by policymakers against the risks posed by these products in Albania. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T19:25:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-48336e7e72ba442e9875ed98b96a9c89 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2405-8440 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T19:25:24Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heliyon |
| spelling | doaj.art-48336e7e72ba442e9875ed98b96a9c892023-04-05T08:15:53ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402023-03-0193e13717Heavy metals in unrecorded Albanian rakia: A pilot study on a potential public health riskTeuta Muhollari0Sándor Szűcs1Zsófi Sajtos2Martin McKee3Edina Baranyai4Róza Ádány5László Pál6Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, HungaryDepartment of Public Health and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, HungaryDepartment of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Atomic Spectroscopy Laboratory, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, HungaryDepartment of Health Services Research and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United KingdomDepartment of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Atomic Spectroscopy Laboratory, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, HungaryDepartment of Public Health and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary; ELKH-DE Public Health Research Group, Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, HungaryDepartment of Public Health and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary; Corresponding author. Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, H-4012 Debrecen, P.O. Box 9, Hungary.Unrecorded alcohol has been linked to illness above and beyond that caused by ethanol alone because of the presence of toxic contaminants. While it can be found in all countries, consumption is high in Albania, where it is frequently consumed as a fruit brandy known as rakia. Among the contaminants identified previously in such products, metals including lead have been detected at levels posing a risk to health but there is little information on their presence in rakia. To fill this gap, we measured the level of ethanol and 24 elements among them toxic metals in 30 Albanian rakia samples. We found that 63.3% of rakia samples had ethanol concentration above 40% v/v. We also showed that there was a significant difference between the measured [mean: 46.7% v/v, interquartile range (IQR): 43.4–52.1% v/v] and reported (mean: 18.9% v/v, IQR: 17.0–20.0% v/v) concentrations of ethanol in rakia. Among the metals detected, aluminium, copper, iron, manganese, lead, and zinc were present in rakia samples at concentrations ranging between 0.013 and 0.866 mg/l of pure alcohol (pa), 0.025–31.629 mg/l of pa, 0.004–1.173 mg/l of pa, 0.185–45.244 mg/l of pa, 0.044–1.337 mg/l of pa, and 0.004–10.156 mg/l of pa, respectively. Copper and lead were found to be the greatest concern posing a potential public health risk. Although the estimated daily intake of these heavy metals from unrecorded rakia was below their toxicological threshold, the concentrations of lead and copper exceeded their limit value of 0.2 and 2.0 mg/l of pa specified for spirits in 33% and 90% of samples, respectively. Therefore, the possibility of adverse health effects cannot be excluded completely. Our findings highlight the need for action by policymakers against the risks posed by these products in Albania.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844023009246AlbaniaCopperEthanolHeavy metalsLeadRakia |
| spellingShingle | Teuta Muhollari Sándor Szűcs Zsófi Sajtos Martin McKee Edina Baranyai Róza Ádány László Pál Heavy metals in unrecorded Albanian rakia: A pilot study on a potential public health risk Heliyon Albania Copper Ethanol Heavy metals Lead Rakia |
| title | Heavy metals in unrecorded Albanian rakia: A pilot study on a potential public health risk |
| title_full | Heavy metals in unrecorded Albanian rakia: A pilot study on a potential public health risk |
| title_fullStr | Heavy metals in unrecorded Albanian rakia: A pilot study on a potential public health risk |
| title_full_unstemmed | Heavy metals in unrecorded Albanian rakia: A pilot study on a potential public health risk |
| title_short | Heavy metals in unrecorded Albanian rakia: A pilot study on a potential public health risk |
| title_sort | heavy metals in unrecorded albanian rakia a pilot study on a potential public health risk |
| topic | Albania Copper Ethanol Heavy metals Lead Rakia |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844023009246 |
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