Degradation of organochlorine pesticides by meat starter in liquid media and fermented sausage.

The effect of meat starter on the degradation of DDT and lindane was investigated. The insignificant role of Lactobacillus plantarum in degrading p,p'-DDT and lindane presented in tryptone soya broth (TSB) and mineral salt medium (MSM) with or without 120 ppm nitrite was observed.The degradation of DDT and lindane by Micrococcus varians in TSB and MSM with or without nitrite were studied. The results indicated that DDT or lindane were degraded during the incubation period. The reduction in DDT at the end of the incubation period (15 days) was about 24.1 and 32.5% in TSB and MSM without nitrite, respectively. Corresponding values in the same media with nitrite were 37.5 and 46.4%. Regarding the reduction in lindane, it was recorded as 27.9 and 40.0% in TSB and MSM without nitrite, respectively and 38.4 and 48.4% in the same media with nitrite. The results indicated that culture media M. varians metabolized DDT mainly to DDD and lindane mainly to 2,4-, 2,5-, 2,6- and 3,4-dichlorophenol; 2,3,4- and 2,3,5-trichlorophenol; hexachlorobenzene; and pentachlorophenol. The effect of pesticides on the growth rate of meat starter was also investigated. The addition of DDT or lindane resulted in a slight decrease in counts of the strains during the initial incubation in TSB or MSM. Then the microorganisms recovered and began to grow logarithmically, but not as well as in a normal situation. The effect of fermentation stage by meat starter on DDT and lindane in fermented sausage was recorded. The results indicated that during the 72 h of fermentation, the reduction was 10 and 18% of DDT and lindane, respectively. These results confirmed that the fermentation process in meat products reduced pesticide residues and these reductions were due to the activity of meat starter.

Heavy metal contents in Egyptian meat and the role of detergent washing on their levels.

Pollution of the environment with heavy metals is a serious problem, which is recognized in most countries of the world. Metals accumulate in the liver, and particularly in the kidneys. The present study provides information about the concentrations of metals in animal organs from both rural and industrial areas. It was surprising that the Pb, Cd, Zn, Cu, Mn and Fe contents in muscle, liver, kidney, heart and spleen in industrial areas were higher than in the same organs of rural areas. Lead concentrations in bovine liver and kidney, in buffalo, elk, sheep and goat kidneys as well as Cd in elk liver and kidneys were higher in the present study than the recommended values. The effect of washing for bovine muscle, liver and kidney using tap water and other detergent solutions on the metals was studied. Washing by only tap water was less effective than the other detergent. The results indicate the efficient role of washing by acidic detergent in the reduction of Pb, Cd and Zn from naturally contaminated meat compared with neutral and alkaline detergent.

Heavy metals in Egyptian spices and medicinal plants and the effect of processing on their levels.

To determine the contamination of Egyptian spices and medicinal plants with heavy metals, a total of 303 samples, which represent 20 different types of spices and medicinal plants that were collected from areas of exportation in Egypt, were analyzed for heavy metals. Some of them have different growing seasons, and each has its own agricultural practices and several shipments. The results revealed that heavy metal contents in spice and medicinal plants depend on the plant species. The maximum levels of heavy metals in the analyzed samples were 14.4, 2.44, 33.75, 2.85, 0.10, 68.80, 343.0, 11.40, and 1046.25 microg/g for Pb, Cd, Cr, Ni, Sn, Zn, Mn, Cu, and Fe, respectively. Cobalt was not detected in any of the various samples under investigation. The levels of heavy metals determined in the analyzed samples were found to exceed the maximum allowable levels of Zentrale Erfassungs und Bewertungsstelle für Umweltchemikalien. The investigated medicinal plants were also processed by two different methods to determine the behavior of their metal contents during processing. It has been found that boiling the plant in water leads to the extraction of higher amounts of the metal from the plant than immersing it in the hot water. The achieved results were tabulated.