ABSTRACT
Chicken meat is widely consumed worldwide. Chicken meat and meat products are important for human diet because they provide a great part of nutrients (protein, lipids), including necessary minerals and trace elements. The main source of metals in these meat foodstuffs arises from processing and manipulation of feeds. Fe, Zn, Cu and Mn are the essential metals which are required in small quantities and occur naturally in various vegetables and meat foodstuffs. However, those essential metals are given special attention due to their toxic effect in the body when their concentrations exceed limits of safe exposure. The contents of these metals in vegetables and meat foodstuffs may vary depending on the general (varieties, maturity, genetics, and age) and environmental (soils, geographical locations, season, water source and use of fertilizers) conditions of plants and animals and on methods of handling and processing. Heavy metals contaminate the environment and enter the food chain. Contamination with these metals is serious threat because of their toxicity, bioaccumulation and biomagnification in the food chain [1-4].
