Levels of potentially toxic heavy metals in bulbs of different varieties of onion.
The presence of toxic heavy metals in food is regulated by legal acts and limited to the permissible contents because the consumption of contaminated food over a long period of time is dangerous for health. Tests for the presence of heavy metals in bulbs of onion variety Stuttgarter (standard) and new varieties Konjicki and Zenicki were conducted in 2012 and 2013 by performing experiments on the site of Butmir, Sarajevo. Even though none of the test samples contained heavy metals above the prescribed amount, as per detected presence of lead, arsenic and cadmium, there are indications of present differences related to the examined varieties of onions or even year of breeding. In 2013 detected content of lead increased by 0.0090 mg/kg, 0.0074 mg/kg of arsenic and 0.0033 mg /kg of cadmium, comparing to 2012. Among the examined varieties of onion, a variety Stuttgarter in 2012 had the highest contents of all studied toxic heavy metals, while such properties in 2013 had variety Zenicki. The results indicate that only the amount of the bulb yield that is significantly higher for the variety Konjicki (34%) in 2012, and 30% for the variety Konjicki and 27% for Zenicki in 2013, comparing to standard, is not enough to accept a new line of onion as fit for human consumption.