Copper, chromium, manganese, nickel and zinc in kidneys of cattle, pigs and sheep and in chicken livers in The Netherlands.

Kidneys of cattle, pigs and sheep and chicken livers have been analyzed for contents of copper, chromium, manganese, nickel and zinc. Mean levels found for copper, manganese and zinc correspond well with results of earlier studies as well as with literature data. Contents measured for chromium and nickel are very low: for nickel in porcine kidneys and sheep kidneys median values of 0.045 and 0.022 mg/kg were found. Average contents for nickel in the other tissues and for chromium in all tissues investigated are below 0.01 mg/kg fresh mass. These results for chromium and nickel correspond well with recent results from Sweden, but are lower than most published values.