A total of 45 samples of vegetable oils including soybean and sunflower
mixture, sunflower and corn oils (15 each) were examined for detection
of the levels of lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) before and afler frying. The
oil samples were evaluated according to their safety for human
consumption based on provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI). The
olptained nwults revealed that the lead concentrations before frying were
ranged fiom 0.0254 - 0.0885, 0.0326 - 0.0577 and 0.0463 - 0.0491
mg/kg for the examined samples, respectively. The cadmium levels
before frying were ranged from below detectable limits (BDL) - 0.0016,
0.0007 - 0.0014 and 0.0015 - 0.0029 mg/kg for the examined samples,
respectively. Moreover, the results pointed out that a significant decrease
in the levels of metals in the examined oil samples afier frying. The
concentrations of lead and cadmium were within the maximum
permissible limits (MPL). The. results also illustrated that PT WI of the
examined samples not exceeded the pCl'II1lSSlbl6 limit fixed for lead and
cadmium. The source of metals contamination and public health
significance were also discussed.