Lead content of four brands of canned sardines

A study was conducted to determine lead content in four brands of canned sardines namely: Ligo, 555, Master and Victoria\u27s sardines. The fish muscles and tomato sauce were analyzed separately using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). Four samples from each brand were tested for the presence of Lead. The study was conducted from November, 1997 to February, 1998. The mean lead content of the fish muscle of each brand of canned sardines are as follows: Victoria\u27s sardines at 0.42 ppm, Master sardines at 0.41 ppm, Ligo sardines at (0.33) ppm and 555 sardines at 0.32 ppm. Ligo sardines at 0.34 ppm and Victoria\u27s sardines at 0.31 ppm. All test samples from each brand were found to be within acceptable levels set by the Bureau of Food and Drugs at 2.0 ppm. Possible sources of lead in canned sardines are the fish itself, the processing operations used, and the can itself