Impact of Cookware Types on Leaking Heavy Metals into Food based on pH Values, and their Potential Impact on the Health Status of a Saudi Sample using a Survey Study Design

Authors

  • Waheeba Ahmed Al-Faki Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition | College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine | Qassim University | Buraidah 51452 | Saudi Arabia
  • Ruya Mohammed Al-Shabrami Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition | College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine | Qassim University | Buraidah 51452 | Saudi Arabia
  • Mudhi Abdullah Aba Al-Khail Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition | College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine | Qassim University | Buraidah 51452 | Saudi Arabia
  • Hala AbdulAziz Al-Muzaini Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition | College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine | Qassim University | Buraidah 51452 | Saudi Arabia
  • Aroob Ahmed Al-Ghafis Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition | College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine | Qassim University | Buraidah 51452 | Saudi Arabia
  • Safyah Ahmed Al-Adl Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition | College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine | Qassim University | Buraidah 51452 | Saudi Arabia
  • Aljouharah Khaled Al-Aqeel Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition | College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine | Qassim University | Buraidah 51452 | Saudi Arabia
  • Mashael Ali Al-Batah Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition | College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine | Qassim University | Buraidah 51452 | Saudi Arabia

Keywords:

cookware
heavy metals
pH
zucchini
tomatoes
aluminum
cast iron
stainless steel

Abstract

This study aimed to measure the leaked metal concentrations in cooked food using three types of cookware (stainless steel (18/10), cast iron, and aluminum). Two types of vegetables were used based on their pH values, tomatoes (pH 4.30-4.90) and zucchini (pH 9), as acidic and basic food materials. In addition, a survey study was performed on a randomly chosen Saudi sample to investigate the impact of their income, age, and awareness level in choosing between the different cookware available in the market, as well as to investigate the impact of the used cookware on their health status. The results showed that cooking acidic food (e.g., tomatoes) in aluminum pots can lead to an increase in the concentrations of leaked metals into the food such as leaking copper (0.27mg/kg), iron (3.048mg/kg), aluminum (0.91mg/kg) and magnesium (95.13 mg/kg) but no change in the concentrations of leaked metals into the food such as Chromium and Nickle (<0.4mg/kg). Results revealed that the only cookware that had the least leaked metals into the acidic food was cast iron. For the basic food (e.g., zucchini), results showed that zucchini turned into an acidic medium after cooking which increased the leaking of different metals into the cooked zucchini. The only cookware that had the least leaked metals into the zucchini was the stainless steel (18/10). The leaked metals into the food may affect the health; the results of this study’s survey showed a potential correlation between using cast iron and stainless steel with the incidence of diabetes, arthritis, and heart diseases. Results also showed that some individuals are aware of choosing between the different cookware available in the market based on the health impact. However, their income affected their choices significantly regardless of their awareness. In conclusion, it can be recommended based on the results of this study that cast iron is more preferable to be used for cooking acidic food, whereas aluminum is not preferable for cooking basic foods.

Author Biographies

Waheeba Ahmed Al-Faki, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition | College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine | Qassim University | Buraidah 51452 | Saudi Arabia

Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition | College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine | Qassim University | Buraidah 51452 | Saudi Arabia

Ruya Mohammed Al-Shabrami, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition | College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine | Qassim University | Buraidah 51452 | Saudi Arabia

Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition | College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine | Qassim University | Buraidah 51452 | Saudi Arabia

Mudhi Abdullah Aba Al-Khail, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition | College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine | Qassim University | Buraidah 51452 | Saudi Arabia

Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition | College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine | Qassim University | Buraidah 51452 | Saudi Arabia

Hala AbdulAziz Al-Muzaini, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition | College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine | Qassim University | Buraidah 51452 | Saudi Arabia

Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition | College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine | Qassim University | Buraidah 51452 | Saudi Arabia

Aroob Ahmed Al-Ghafis, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition | College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine | Qassim University | Buraidah 51452 | Saudi Arabia

Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition | College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine | Qassim University | Buraidah 51452 | Saudi Arabia

Safyah Ahmed Al-Adl, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition | College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine | Qassim University | Buraidah 51452 | Saudi Arabia

Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition | College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine | Qassim University | Buraidah 51452 | Saudi Arabia

Aljouharah Khaled Al-Aqeel, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition | College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine | Qassim University | Buraidah 51452 | Saudi Arabia

Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition | College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine | Qassim University | Buraidah 51452 | Saudi Arabia

Mashael Ali Al-Batah, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition | College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine | Qassim University | Buraidah 51452 | Saudi Arabia

Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition | College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine | Qassim University | Buraidah 51452 | Saudi Arabia

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Published

2023-12-30

How to Cite

1.
Impact of Cookware Types on Leaking Heavy Metals into Food based on pH Values, and their Potential Impact on the Health Status of a Saudi Sample using a Survey Study Design. JAEVS [Internet]. 2023 Dec. 30 [cited 2025 Apr. 2];7(4):21-8. Available from: https://journals.ajsrp.com/index.php/jaevs/article/view/7190

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Articles

How to Cite

1.
Impact of Cookware Types on Leaking Heavy Metals into Food based on pH Values, and their Potential Impact on the Health Status of a Saudi Sample using a Survey Study Design. JAEVS [Internet]. 2023 Dec. 30 [cited 2025 Apr. 2];7(4):21-8. Available from: https://journals.ajsrp.com/index.php/jaevs/article/view/7190