< 0.05) in the mean concentrations of metals across all rice samples. The metals detected included both essential and nonessential types: chromium (Cr) ranged from nondetectable (ND) to 15.36 mg/kg; nickel (Ni) from ND to 17.76 mg/kg; cadmium (Cd) from 1.22 to 5.58 mg/kg; lead (Pb) from 0.17 to 0.98 mg/kg; iron (Fe) from 19.99 to 84.71 mg/kg; calcium (Ca) from 35.15 to 198.53 mg/kg; potassium (K) from 35.31 to 105.19 mg/kg; and magnesium (Mg) from 18.66 to 46.07 mg/kg. The percentage recoveries ranged from 80.5% to 120%, indicating good accuracy and repeatability of the analytical procedure. The study also found significant variations among the six metals, suggesting that geographic origin influences metal levels in rice. Notably, while there was no significant difference between cadmium and calcium concentrations, the levels of nonessential metals, cadmium, lead, and nickel, exceeded the recommended limits set by WHO/FAO. Based on these findings, the study recommends careful handling of rice during transportation, marketing, storage, and cultivation to minimize exposure to toxic metals.
Beyene et al. (Thu,) studied this question.