?CURRf:NT STATUS OF NICK~L CONTAMINATION OF LOCALVEGETABLE GHEE
Keywords:
Nickel contamination, Vegetable ghee, Hydrogenation.Abstract
Nickelcontamination oflocallyproducedvegetablegheehasbeenevaluatedusingthe atomicabsorptionflame photomet-
ric method, employing n-hexane as solubilizationmedium.The data,based on 3 batches of samplescomprising a total of
32samplesprocured from 18manufactures,isreportedasX±SD,for 3to 5replicates.The nickel concentration rangesfor the three batches are, 0.445-0.726 mg 100g.l,0.668-1.2668 mg 100s', and 0.395-1.234 mg 100g-l,thereby indicating
an inefficient nickel filtration process at individual industrial units. Substantial comparative variations in the nickel con-
centration areobservedintheoutputofagivengheeindustry.TheestimatedlevelsofnickelexceedtheWHO's lower safe -
limitof0.1a mg 100g.lgheeserving.