INVESTIGATION OF POTASSIUM BROMATE IN BREAD FROM BAKERIES IN UKANAFUN COMMUNITY OF AKWA IBOM STATE, NIGERIA

Potassium bromate (KBrO3) is a dough improver used in baking bread to increase bread size and profit. However, the additive has been banned from use due to its adverse effects on human health. Despite its ban, some bakers, especially in rural communities continue to use it. The ingestion of potassium bromate is linked to a number of clinical problems including carcinogenicity, hepatotoxicity and neurotoxicity. Bread samples from five bakeries in rural communities in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria were randomly obtained and assessed for their levels of potassium bromate using spectrophotometric method. The absorbance of the standards and that of the samples were taken at 540 nm in the visible region of the spectrophotometer, then converted to concentrations with reference to a calibration curve constructed from pure potassium bromate sample solutions. All the bread samples contained potassium bromate and concentrations in the bread samples ranged from 5.16 – 8.50 mg/Kg. The values are beyond the allowed permissible level set by most international health standards that permit the use of the additive. The concentrations are higher than the permissible level of 0.02 mg/Kg set in Nigeria by National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). The ban should be enforced further especially in bakeries sited in rural communities in order to properly safeguard the health of consumers