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The aim of this study was to evaluate essential and toxic element concentration of ten commercially available veal cuts, together with diaphragm, cardiac muscle and liver tissue from 10 animals of "Galician Supreme Veal". Essential trace elements (Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Se and Zn) and toxic elements (As, Cd, Hg and Pb) were determined by ICP-MS. Essential trace element concentrations ranged from 0.002-55.64mg/kg between muscles. Toxic element concentrations were very low, and high numbers of samples showed unquantifiable residues of Cd and Pb. Veal cuts including muscles with a high proportion of oxidative slow-twitch fibers (diaphragm and cardiac muscle) showed significantly higher essential trace element concentrations, the lower concentrations being found in veal cuts including glycolytic fast-twitch fibers (eye round). Our results suggest that essential and toxic trace element concentration could be used as a new meat quality parameter, or to add further value to certain products (i.e. livestock reared on extensive systems with high physical activity)., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Soils developed on serpentine rocks contain high levels of heavy metals such as copper (Cu), nickel (Ni) and chromium (Cr), and are deficient in some macronutrients. The crops and pasture grown on these soils may accumulate high levels of metals, which constitute a potential health hazard for cattle. The aim of this study was to evaluate Cr, Ni and Cu accumulation in cattle raised in a serpentine area in Southwest Europe (Galicia, NW Spain). Samples of liver, kidney and muscle of 41 animals aged 8-12 months were collected at slaughter. Representative samples of soil and forage were taken from 10 farms. Samples were acid-digested and metal concentrations determined by ICP-MS (Cr and Ni) and ICP-AES (Cu). The concentrations of the metals in soils and forage were in the range of those found in serpentine soils in other areas. Accumulation of Cr in animal tissues was generally low and within the normal range. However, 20% of the animals had toxic levels of Ni in kidney and 32% of the animals had liver Cu levels above the acceptable range. Serpentine soils had a significant effect on Ni and Cu accumulation in cattle, and a relatively high percentage of the animals showed tissue levels of Ni and Cu indicative of risk of toxicity.

The aim of the present study was to assess whether the use of pig slurry and associated copper accumulation in calves grazing pastures fertilized with pig slurry from the Deza region in NW Spain has a significant influence on toxic metal and essential metal levels, and to investigate whether copper accumulation is correlated with the levels of these other metals. Correlations between copper, toxic metals (cadmium, lead) and essential metals (molybdenum, iron, zinc, selenium, manganese and cobalt) concentrations were evaluated in liver and kidney of 195 calves from the region of Deza. Metal concentrations were determined by ICP-OES and correlations between pairs of elements by Pearson correlation analysis. There was a strongly significant positive association between copper and lead in the liver. Considering the trace metals, copper in the liver showed significant positive correlations with cobalt in both liver and kidney, and with molybdenum in the liver. In addition, significant correlations were observed between copper and most essential metals in kidney. These associations are similar to those found in different animal species experimentally dosed with copper and other metals, as well as in cattle exposed to normal copper concentrations.

This study evaluated the contribution of anthropogenic pollution to toxic metal residues (Cd, Pb and As) in cattle in an industrialized area of Asturias (northern Spain), and investigated possible implications of toxic metal exposure for metabolism of essential metal elements (Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn). Samples of liver, kidney, muscle and blood from animals aged 9-12 months were obtained from an industrialized area (78 calves) and from a rural area (92 calves). Samples were acid-digested, and levels of metals determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Cadmium and lead contents in the liver and kidney were moderately and significantly higher in calves from the industrialized area (Cd: liver 29.6, kidney 161; Pb: liver 38.1, kidney 38.3 microg/kg wet weight) than in calves from the rural area (Cd: liver 22.9, kidney 96.4; Pb: liver 20.7, kidney 15.9 microg/kg kg wet weight). Although these toxic metals were only moderately raised, our results suggest that they may nevertheless have interfered with trace element metabolism, as reported previously for severely polluted regions. Notably, copper levels in calves from the industrialized area were generally low, and nearly half of these animals showed tissue copper levels indicating risk of copper deficiency.

In Galicia, Spain, liver copper concentrations, muscle zinc concentrations and kidney cadmium concentrations (in adult cattle) can exceed acceptable maximum concentrations which have been adopted by some countries. The aim was to calculate the contribution of cattle products to the daily intake of trace and toxic metals by humans in Galicia and to evaluate whether there was any health risk to consumers. This was done by comparing calculated intakes with published acceptable daily intake rates for toxic elements and with the accepted safe ranges for population mean intakes of the essential metals. Typically, the contribution of cattle meat and offal to the daily cadmium, lead and arsenic intake of people in Galicia was minimal because offal is rarely eaten. However, liver from older cattle, especially animals from relatively contaminated areas, could pose a health risk if offal was consumed in substantial quantities. Muscle and liver from Galician cattle that exceeded acceptable maximum concentrations for copper and zinc did not pose a risk to human health.

Studies on the impacts of pollutant metals and metalloids on livestock have largely focused on animals with relatively high levels of exposure. The impact of low-level environmental contamination, which is more common on agricultural land, is largely unknown. The principal aim of the present study was to examine the effects of low-level environmental contamination on trace metal metabolism in cattle from the rural and relatively uncontaminated region of Galicia (NW Spain). Correlations between toxic (cadmium, lead, and arsenic) and essential trace elements (copper and zinc) were evaluated in the tissues (liver, kidney, and muscle) and blood of 494 cattle from throughout Galicia. Cadmium was the toxic element that had the greatest influence on copper and zinc homeostasis. There was a significant positive association between renal cadmium and zinc residues and a significant negative correlation between kidney cadmium and copper. These interactions are likely to be the result of cadmium-induced effects on metallothionein synthesis. Lead and zinc were positively associated in the kidney, although the mechanism of this interaction is uncertain. Arsenic and copper concentrations were strongly correlated with each other in the liver and may indicate that the high copper levels in animals from copper-rich areas in Galicia interfere with their arsenic excretion. The essential metals copper and zinc were also significantly associated with each other in calves but not in cows.