Exposure to potentially toxic elements through ingestion of canned non-alcoholic drinks sold in Istanbul, Türkiye: A health risk assessment study

High amounts of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in non-alcoholic beverages can result in acute or long-term intoxication. Trace amounts of PTEs like arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, zinc, and some others can accumulate in soft drinks because of environmentally contaminated surface and underground water, food, and fruits that are used in the manufacturing process. These elements can then be ingested through soft beverages and cause adverse health effects. From this point of view, the levels of PTEs in 39 soft beverages (ice coffee, iced tea, and energy drinks) obtained from supermarkets in Istanbul were quantified using a validated ICP-MS assay. Hence, the corresponding levels in the unit of µg/L were as follows: Mn (395.83 ± 431.74) > Fe (327.53 ± 684.65) > Zn (255.55 ± 490.65) > Ni (30.36 ± 21.36) > Cu (25.48 ± 54.38) > Cr (6.57 ± 10.09) > Pb (4.60 ± 1.70) > Cd (3.36 ± 0.79) > Sb (2.60 ± 0.30) > As (1.69 ± 3.34) > Ti (0.73 ± 1.73) > Hg (0.37 ± 0.43). The health risk assessment study was based on estimated daily intake (EDI), target cancer risk (TR), hazard index (HI), and target hazard quotient (THQ), indicating no cancer and non-cancerogenic health risk. Intercorrelation among PTEs and their possible sources was investigated using multivariate and bivariate statistical approaches such as hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), Pearson’s correlation coefficient (PCC), and principal component analysis (PCA), demonstrating that there can be three different sources of PTEs measured in the samples. Though our results pointed to no possible health risk linked with PTEs from non-alcoholic beverage intake, screening soft drinks in terms of PTE content should be sustained for long-term food security.