Heavy Metal and Metalloid Contamination in Livestock Meat in Uganda: A Review of the Current State, Implications to the Food System and Potential Remedies
摘要
Contamination of agricultural lands in Uganda with heavy metals and/or metalloids is reported to be on the increase. The primary causes of this contamination are anthropogenic activities like mining, industrialisation, pesticides and fertiliser use. This threatens meat consumers’ health because livestock bio-accumulate these compounds as they feed on vegetation and water from contaminated areas. This chapter reviews literature on the level of heavy metal and/or metalloid contamination in soils, water, livestock feeds and meat, and assesses the potential risk to consumers. Cancer risk due to the consumption of heavy metal and/or metalloid-contaminated meat is high across the country. The risk is even higher among individuals who consume visceral organs like the liver and kidney, where heavy metal and/or metalloid concentration is highest. The use of alternative supplementary feeds like black soldier fly larvae meal poses additional risk since they accumulate heavy metals in their tissues. Notably, heavy metal contamination in Uganda’s livestock meat is not only a local but an international concern since Uganda exports meat and is a hub for tourists. We recommend the inclusion of biochar in animal feeds as a potential remedy to reduce heavy metals in animal tissues. Herbal remedies like garlic could also be used but judiciously since they also bio-accumulate heavy metals and metalloids from soils.