A need for determination of arsenic species at low levels in cereal-based food and infant cereals. Validation of a method by LC-ICPMS

• Published in: Food chemistry 2013-10
• Main Authors: Llorente-Mirandes, Toni, Calderon, Josep, Centrich, F, Rubio i Rovira, Roser, López Sánchez, José Fermín
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alimentació infantil; Arsenic; Arsènic; Cereals (Aliment); Child nutrition; Compostos inorgànics; Espectrometria de masses de plasma acoblat inductivament; Food chemistry; Grain (feed); Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry; Inorganic compounds; Química dels aliments
• ISSN: 0308-8146

The present study arose from the need to determine inorganic arsenic (iAs) at low levels in cereal-based food. Validated methods with a low limit of detection (LOD) are required to analyse these kinds of food. An analytical method for the determination of iAs, methylarsonic acid (MA) and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) in cereal-based food and infant cereals is reported. The method was optimised and validated to achieve low LODs. Ion chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LC-ICPMS) was used for arsenic speciation. The main quality parameters were established. To expand the applicability of the method, different cereal products were analysed: bread, biscuits, breakfast cereals, wheat flour, corn snacks, pasta and infant cereals. The total and inorganic arsenic content of 29 cereal-based food samples ranged between 3.7-35.6 and 3.1-26.0 microg As kg-1, respectively. The present method could be considered a valuable tool for assessing inorganic arsenic contents in cereal-based foods.