en public specific orginal article <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="line-height:115%">Milk and dairy products are nutritious and can play a significant role in a healthy diet. The safety of milk decreases with increase in concentration of Cadmium (</span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="line-height:115%">Cd) and Mercury (Hg)</span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="line-height:115%">. The aim is to evaluate the status of </span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="line-height:115%">Cd and Hg</span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="line-height:115%"> contamination regarding milk and dairy products in some provinces and cities of Vietnam. <b>Methods:</b></span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="line-height:115%"> 367 samples of liquid milk, yogurt, cheese, milk cake and milk powder were collected in six large cities and provinces of Vietnam, then Cd and Hg levels were quantitatively analyzed. Samples were digested before analysis to remove organic compounds, and the heavy metal concentrations were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. </span></span><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="line-height:115%">Results:</span></span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="line-height:115%"> The average concentrations of Cd and Hg in liquid milk were 64.55 and 29.99 ppb; in yogurt, 49.09 and 24.72 ppb; in cheese, 115.81 and 33.75 ppb; in milk cake, 84.44 and 18.08 ppb; and in milk powder, 61.78 and 43.21 ppb, respectively. </span></span><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="line-height:115%">Conclusion:</span></span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="line-height:115%"> Hg concentrations in 19.3% of liquid milk, 9.49% of yogurt, 14.29% of cheese, 9.09% of milk cake, and 22% of milk powder were higher than the maximum permitted levels according to national regulations. In contrast, Cd concentrations of all the samples were less than the maximum permitted levels so as not to affect the health of consumers of milk and dairy products produced and processed in Vietnam.</span></span></span></span></span><br> <br> &nbsp;</div> Heavy metals, Cadmium, Mercury, Milk, Dairy products. 460 468 http://jnfs.ssu.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-712-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Kien Xuan Nguyen 0009-0000-4824-2082 No Department of Military Medical Command and Organization, Vietnam Military Medical University, Ha Noi city, Vietnam Chuyen Van Nguyen 0000-0001-9507-8377 No Department of Military Hygiene, Vietnam Military Medical University, Ha Noi city, Vietnam Trang Thi Thu Nguyen 0000-0002-4859-8991 No Department of Military Hygiene, Vietnam Military Medical University, Ha Noi city, Vietnam Ha Thi Nhi Tran 0009-0001-2673-3654 No Hanoi Department of Health, Ha Noi city, Vietnam Dien Duc Nguyen 0000-0002-9963-9626 No Department of Military Hygiene, Vietnam Military Medical University, Ha Noi city, Vietnam Ba Van Nguyen 0000-0001-8603-2035 No Military Hospital 103, Vietnam Military Medical University, Ha Noi city, Vietnam Anh Tuan Le 0000-0001-6288-9077 No Department of Military Hygiene, Vietnam Military Medical University, Ha Noi city, Vietnam Minh Duc Tong 0000-0001-5449-0832 No Department of Military Hygiene, Vietnam Military Medical University, Ha Noi city, Vietnam Kha Van Tran 0000-0002-9517-3304 No Department of Military Hygiene, Vietnam Military Medical University, Ha Noi city, Vietnam Truong Thi Hoang 0000-0001-7118-7122 No Department of Military Hygiene, Vietnam Military Medical University, Ha Noi city, Vietnam Trung Hoang Nguyen 0000-0003-3527-7037 No Department of Military Hygiene, Vietnam Military Medical University, Ha Noi city, Vietnam Thien Duc Nguyen 0009-0005-8683-5782 No Department of Military Hygiene, Vietnam Military Medical University, Ha Noi city, Vietnam Hang Thi Dieu Dinh 0000-0002-4143-1419 No Hai Duong Medical Technical University, Hai Duong city, Vietnam Hung Van Mai 0009-0009-5587-3427 No Faculty of Education, VNU University of Education, Ha Noi city, Vietnam Phuong Minh Nguyen phuongk21@gmail.com 0000-0003-0948-6871 Yes Department of Military Occupational Medicine, Vietnam Military Medical University, Ha Noi city, Vietnam.