Trace elements profile in nectars and fruit juices consumed in Portugal

Coelho, Inês; Sardinha, Dina; Gueifão, Sandra; Castanheira, Isabel

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.18/3542

Use this identifier to reference this record.

Name:	Description:	Size:	Format:
Poster ICFC2015.pdf		960.24 KB	Adobe PDF	Download

Send Feedback

Authors

Abstract(s)

Objective: The main objectives of the present work were 1) to study the inorganic contaminants present in nectars and fruit juices consumed in Portugal and 2) to evaluate the reliability of pooled versus single samples to derive consistent estimates of exposure assessment to inorganic contaminants. Methodology: Twenty four samples of juices and nectars representative of the domestic market were acquired in May 2014 in the Lisbon region. Samples of representative brands were collected randomly in supermarkets of national implementation in accordance with consumer preference. Afterwards these were analyzed both as single units and as two pools, one of nectars and the other of juices, composed by 12 samples each. The work focused on the determination of Copper, Manganese, Cobalt, Selenium, Zinc, Arsenic, Cadmium, Chromium and Lead using ICP-MS. Element determination was preceded by high pressure closed vessel microwave digestion. Speciation studies for the determination of inorganic arsenic were carried out through HPLC-ICP-MS. Results: Cadmium was present in concentrations above the limit of quantification (LQ) only in one sample. Arsenic was found above the LQ (LQ=2 µg/L) in almost half the samples under study. The speciation study proved that most of this arsenic is present in the inorganic forms (As III and As V). However, there is no European legislation for arsenic in fruit juice. Inconsistent results were obtained for arsenic between pooled and single samples. Conclusions: In the nectars and fruit juices studied metals and metalloids of known toxicity were found in levels below legislated limits for water intended for human consumption. In light of the obtained results arsenic speciation is crucial to clarify the toxicity of arsenic present in foodstuffs. Also, the present work provided a clear example of how, due to a dilution factor, pooling might mask the presence of a contaminant and therefore underestimate exposure assessments.