Lead is toxic to man and other living organisms. Its
toxicity is due its bioaccumulation potential in biologic
tissues. Lead also has an effect on the brain and the
intellectual development in young children. Long-term
exposure in both children and adults can cause damage
to the kidneys and reproductive and immune systems in
addition to negative effects on the nervous system. The
range of lead recorded in the soft drink samples was
between 0.024 and 0.304 mg/L, and a mean concentration
value of 0.154 mg/L. The respective concentrations
of lead in the various fruit bases (i.e., pineapple, apple,
and orange) were higher than the corresponding levels
recorded in a similar study in Nigeria in 2009 as shown
in Tables 5 (Akan et al. 2009). The abbreviation ND in table means that the heavy metal was not detected in the
course of the study.