Quality and safety of cassava roots produced from reclaimed and non-mine sites

Abstract

• Cassava roots from reclaimed and non-mine sites exhibited similar proximate values. • Pb levels of cassava roots from reclaimed mine sites exceeded acceptable levels. • Cassava roots from reclaimed mine sites recorded higher and unacceptable HCN levels. • Cultivation of cassava roots on reclaimed mine sites poses potential health risks. Mining contributes significantly to developing economies worldwide, though its extraction techniques are deleterious to ecosystem, health and food production. While the reclamation of mine sites is laudable, the quality and safety of food crops from such reclaimed fields is rarely known. This study aimed to determine and compare the safety and quality of cassava roots produced from reclaimed and non-mine sites in Ghana. Purposive and simple random sampling techniques were employed to collect cassava samples from reclaimed and non-mine fields at the study locations for quality and safety analysis using standard methods. The result indicated that the various cassava samples from reclaimed fields in Pameng contained higher amount of moisture (63.60 %), fat (2.34 %), and protein (1.75 %) as compared to those of non-mine fields (55.23, 1.38, and 0.88 % respectively). Nonetheless, in Gyadam, all proximate parameters except ash (5.53 %), were higher in samples collected from reclaimed mine sites. Whereas all the heavy metal levels in samples fell within acceptable limits, Lead (Pb) quantities in cassava roots from reclaimed mine sites exceeded maximum permissible limits due to the mining activities that had occurred on the field. Mercury was not detected in all the cassava samples. Cyanide was generally present in higher quantities (61.05–156.07 mg/kg) for cassava samples from reclaimed mine sites than non-mine sites (41.76 and 79.04 mg/kg) in both study locations, though they were both above permissible limits. The nutritional quality of cassava roots from the reclaimed and non-mine sites were comparable; however, those from reclaimed mine sites had unacceptable levels of cyanide and heavy metals, indicating possible safety issues concerning its consumption.