Dr. Umar Aitsaam

The review quantifies cassava hydrogen cyanide safety across products, ranks detox methods, flags heavy-metal and aflatoxin co-risks, and outlines HTMC-ready controls.

Biochar and poultry manure reduce cassava heavy metals while improving protein and ash content on mine-degraded soils, informing HTMC criteria.

The study links growth period and plant part to heavy metal bioaccumulation in crops, finding frequent exceedances in leaves and short-term species, with seeds and fruits often safer. Evidence guides HTMC sampling, limits, and safer-crop recommendations.

Combined physical, chemical, and biological strategies deliver the most reliable heavy metal contaminated soil remediation outcomes, with dust control and pH management central to HTMC-aligned risk reduction.

This research demonstrates that intercropping significantly reduces cadmium and lead levels in soil and edible tuber tissues, supporting safer food production and aiding heavy metal certification compliance.

This study of heavy metal accumulation in Ghanaian foodstuffs reveals high lead levels in cassava from mining areas, posing health risks—especially to children—underscoring the importance of monitoring for certification programs.

This study in Ghana found that boiling cassava and cocoyam grown near gold mines reduces heavy metal and cyanide levels below safety limits, highlighting the importance of considering cooking methods in heavy metal certification programs and food safety regulations.

This study systematically assessed heavy metal pollution in agricultural soils near Lanzhou’s industrial zones, revealing severe Hg and Cd risks and highlighting the urgent need for targeted control and risk-based certification standards to protect both ecological and human health.

EFSA’s review on mercury-and-methylmercury-in-food establishes TWIs of 1.3 µg/kg/week for methylmercury and 4 µg/kg/week for inorganic mercury, identifying high-Hg fish species and sensitive populations crucial for HTMC certification and risk management.

The harmonised Portugal Total Diet Study revealed that methylmercury exposure among Portuguese adults nearly reaches the TWI. Dried cod and hake are major contributors, posing significant health risks for frequent seafood consumers, particularly women of childbearing age.