Iranian Journal of

Background and Objective: Environmental pollution with heavy metals and consequently their entry into food chains leads to irreparable damage to human health. The aim of this study was to determine the concentration of heavy metals including copper, zinc, lead and cadmium in blood and milk of grazing livestock around Zinc industry in Zanjan province (VSIPZ).
Materials and Methods: A total of 10 samples of grazing blood and milk were taken in each of the four geographical directions of the desired location. Also, in order to compare the current situation in the study area with the non-polluted areas, the control area (Qarah Poshtlu area of Zanjan) was considered. Dry ash method was used to digest organic matter.
Results: The results showed that the concentration of copper in the blood of cows and sheeps and the concentration of lead in the blood of cows in the west of VSIPZ was higher than the control group (p <0.05). There was no significant difference between the study areas and the control in terms of zinc and cadmium concentration in blood samples. Copper concentrations in cows and sheeps milk were lower than the control group in the southern and eastern regions of the VSIPZ, respectively (p <0.05). Zinc and lead concentrations in sheeps’ milk were higher than the control in the south and west of the VSIPZ, respectively (p <0.05).
Conclusion: In general, the results implied that the accumulation of lead in sheeps’ milk in the west of VSIPZ is more than maximum allowable concentration and can endanger the health of consumers.

Background and Objective: Butter is a known dairy product in the world and has an important role in human nutrition. Ignoring sanitary tips in this product leads to low quality of the product and outbreak. Therefore, this study aims to investigate bacterial pollution of local butter produced from cow and sheep milk in Ilam city.
Materials and Methods: In this analytical study, 150 samples of traditional cow and sheep butter were collected and studied for microbial contamination for 1 month from different production centers. SPSS version 23 software was used to analyze the collected data.
Results: From 75 samples of cow butter, 25.3% of the samples are polluted to S. aureus, 44% to S. epidermidis, 38.7% to Salmonella, 12% to Total coliform 10.7% to E. coli, and 12% do not have any pollution. From 75 samples of sheep local butter, 12% of the samples are polluted to S. aureus, 72% to S. epidermidis, 48% to Salmonella, 24% to Total coliform, and 17.3% to E. coli. A significant difference (P< 0.05) between pollution to S. aureus and S. epidermis in cow and sheep samples exists.
Conclusion: The results of this study showed that contamination of consumed local butter in Ilam city is considerably high; Therefore, it is important to pay attention to food hygiene in different stages from production to consumption.