en Food Safety and Hygiene Food Safety and Hygiene پژوهشي Original Article <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height:1;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><b><span style="color:black">Background: </span></b><span class="TextChar"><span style="color:#231f20"><span style="color:black">Heavy metal contamination in meat products presents a significant public health risk owing to their bioaccumulation potential and subsequent adverse health effects. This study, conducted in Iran in 2025, aimed to quantify cadmium and chromium concentrations in commercially available sausages, assessing potential variations influenced by brand and meat content.</span></span></span><b><span style="color:black"></span></b><br> <b><span style="color:black">Methods: </span></b><span class="TextChar"><span style="color:#231f20"><span style="color:black">A total of 99 sausage samples from 11 brands were collected from retail outlets across Iran. Cadmium and chromium concentrations were measured using </span></span></span><span style="color:black">Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry</span><span class="TextChar"><span style="color:#231f20"><span style="color:black"> after acid digestion. One-way ANOVA assessed differences between brands and meat content categories.</span></span></span><b><span style="color:black"></span></b><br> <b><span style="color:black">Results: </span></b><span class="TextChar"><span style="color:#231f20"><span style="color:black">The mean concentrations of cadmium and chromium were determined to be 0.18 &plusmn; 0.19 &micro;g/kg and 34.01 &plusmn; 41.33 &micro;g/kg, respectively. Cadmium and chromium concentrations ranged from 0.10 to 1.53 &micro;g/kg and 0.10 to 200.50 &micro;g/kg, </span></span></span><span style="color:black">respectively</span><span class="TextChar"><span style="color:#231f20"><span style="color:black">. </span></span></span><span style="color:black">While</span><span class="TextChar"><span style="color:#231f20"><span style="color:black"> significant inter-brand differences were found for both metals, the percentage of meat content </span></span></span><span style="color:black">did not exert a statistically significant influence on their concentrations.</span><b><span style="color:black"></span></b><br> <b><span style="color:black">Conclusion: </span></b><span class="TextChar"><span style="color:#231f20"><span style="color:black">According to Codex Alimentarius (CXS 193-1995), all analyzed samples contained cadmium and chromium levels below the maximum permissible limits (50 &micro;g/kg and 1000 &micro;g/kg, respectively). These findings offer valuable insights into the safety and quality of sausage products in the Iranian market, contributing to enhanced food safety surveillance and public health protection.</span></span></span></span></span></span></div> Food safety, Heavy metals, Meat products, Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry, Iran, 0 0 http://jhehp.zums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-707-3&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Ali Mohammadzadeh mohamadzadehali800@gmail.com 100319475328460016725 0009000812721776 Yes Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Health and Metabolic Diseases Research Institute, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran. Zohre Farahmandkia zfarahmand@zums.ac.ir 100319475328460016726 0000000290224969 No Health and Environment Research Center, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran. Hassan Hassanzadazar h.hassanzadazar@gmail.com 100319475328460016727 0000000278737593 No Department of Food Safety and Hygiene, School of Public Health, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran. Majid Aminzare m.aminzare@zums.ac.ir 100319475328460016728 0000000323167420 No Nutrition and Food Security Research Center, Health and Metabolic Diseases Research Institute, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran. Saeid Vahedi saeidvahedi95@gmail.com 100319475328460016729 0000000175836054 No Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Health and Metabolic Diseases Research Institute, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran. Rana Dizaji dizaji.r@zums.ac.ir 100319475328460016730 0000000153705037 No Food and Drug Administration, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran.