THE LEVELS OF CADMIUM, NICKEL, MANGANESE LEAD, ZINC, IRON, TIN, COPPER AND ARSENIC IN THE BRINED CANNED JORDANIAN CHEESE

The levels of cadmium, nickel, manganese, lead, zinc, iron, tin, copper and arsenic in fresh sheep's milk, white brined cheese preserved in glass jars and in tin containers and their corresponding brines, salt and tin plates were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The results have been compared with those reported in recent years. Although metal levels were comparable with other investigators' data, our data shows that white brined cheese picked-up metals from tin containers and from the naturally contaminated salt, on the contrary brined cheese in preserved glass jars showed lower levels of metals. We recommend a purified salt for brine preparation and glass jars for white cheese preservation in order to minimize cheese contamination with metals from tin cans and salt.