The concentration of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in sausages: a systematic review and meta-analysis study

The contamination of fresh meat and meat products like sausages with potentially toxic elements (PTEs) is a worldwide health concern. Consequently, the related investigations concerning the levels of PTEs in sausages among databases such as Scopus, Cochrane, and PubMed were investigated 1 January 2000 to 20 August 2020. Furthermore, the concentration of PTEs in sausages was meta-analyzed based on the random effect model (REM). The findings indicated that the rank order of PTEs in sausage was Fe (432.154 μg/kg) > Cu (152.589 μg/kg) > Zn (93.813 μg/kg) > Cr (6.040 μg/kg) > Pb (1.524 μg/kg) > Ni (0.525 μg/kg) > Cd (0.115 μg/kg) > As (0.066 μg/kg). Our results showed that the PTE concentration in sausages was lower than the permitted limit except for Pb in samples reported from Nigeria, China, and Turkey. Therefore, continuous monitoring of PTEs in such products was recommended.