This work is focused on the use of GFAAS for the determination of lead and cadmium in a variety of food samples.The performance of this method was validated by assessing the Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) from the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and China National Institute of Metrology (NIM) as well as by comparing these results with those obtained using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) after complete sample digestion by microwave method.