In general, higher levels of the metals were found in vegetables, cereals and fruits.
Multivariate analysis showed that Ni, Cu and As in foods were mostly contributed by anthropogenic
activities. Heavy metals in food groups showed strong significant correlations by forming egg–
meat–milk, vegetables–cereals and fruit–fish groups/clusters. Most of the metals from dietary intake
were higher than the maximum tol- erable daily intake (MTDI), suggesting a considerable risk to the
consumers. The cumulative risks of the studied metals through consumption of fish, vegetables,
cereals, and fruits exceeded unity (THQs 4 1), indicated that people would experience potential
risks if they being exposed to the toxic metals from consumption of the
studied food items.