
Cadmium is a heavy metal used in a number of applications, including the production of batteries, steel plating and as a pigment in plastics and glasses. These industrial activities can release cadmium into the environment where it accumulates in water and soil and enters plants, animals and fish through uptake and ingestion. As a result, humans can be exposed to cadmium through the consumption of foodstuffs. This poses health risks as excessive cadmium consumption can cause nausea, gastrointestinal pain, softening of bones and kidney damage. The main ingredients in chocolate include milk, cocoa and fats, and each is a potential source of cadmium, so chocolate samples should be analyzed accurately to ensure consumer safety. The provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) of cadmium is seven ?g/kg body weight. The recommendation however, is to limit cadmium intake as much as possible because it offers no nutritional benefit. Typical maximum levels of cadmium in foodstuffs are currently between 0.05 and 0.2 mg/kg wet weight.
The new application note demonstrates how the iCE 3500 atomic absorption spectrometer from the Thermo Scientific iCE 3000 Series provides a simple and accurate tool for the analysis of cadmium in chocolate. Samples were analyzed following a simple digestion procedure, and matrix matched standards were used to accurately determine cadmium concentration. The unique GFTV enabled easy optimization of the position of the injection capillary and allowed visualization of the deposition of the sample into the cuvette, ensuring accuracy and repeatability. In addition, the wizard-driven SOLAAR software enabled quick and easy furnace optimization and method development. Experimental results revealed that cadmium was accurately detected in all analyzed chocolate samples at concentration levels well below recommended limits for cadmium in foodstuffs.
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