CONTAMINATION OF MEAT AND OFFAL (SKIN) BY THE TRACE ELEMENTS METALS DURING THE COOKING GRID OR FOLLOWING PRE-TREATMENT OF STRIPPING TO TIRES

The ?choukouya?, beef cooked on artisanal metal barbecues powered mainly with rubber woods, is being a high consumption in C?te d'Ivoire, particularly in Abidjan, in the towns of Port-Bou?t and Yopougon. It is the same for the ?kplo?, ox stripped to the fire made of used tires and rubber debris, especially in the communes of Abobo and Port-Bou?t. These cooking process generate toxic compounds among which are the trace elements metals (TEM), carcinogenic or mutagenic. The objective of the study is to determine the levels of contamination of meat and offal (skin) by the TEM (cadmium, mercury, lead). Thus, 60 samples of meat and 60 samples of skin were collected, mineralized in acidic medium and assayed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). The results indicate that in the samples of meat lead presents the highest average levels, with 0.490 mg/kg and 0.446 mg/kg respectively at Port-Bou?t and Yopougon. In the skin samples also, lead has the highest average concentrations with respectively 0.605 mg/kg and 1.457 mg/kg at Abobo and Port-Bou?t. These values are beyond the European Union standard (0.1 mg/kg). Mercury and cadmium levels are below their limits which are respectively 0.5 mg/kg and 0.05 mg/kg regardless to the matrix and the commune.