Simultaneous Determination of Heavy Metal and Mineral Contents in Fruit Juices using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry

Overview

In this work, fifteen heavy metals and mineral contents in fruit juices were simultaneously determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS) after microwave digestion. The analysis results of different types of juices from local market were compared against the new US EPA and WHO regulation limits. The elemental contents were either well below the regulation limits or not detected. The ICP-MS method developed applying helium collision cell technology is fast, sensitive and stable. The method accuracy, repeatability and stability were verified.

Introduction

The consumption of fruit juice beverages has been increasing over the years due to its higher nutritional contents compared to its counterparts. It is therefore important to determine and quantify the heavy metals present in these beverages for food safety ^[1]. Some heavy metals such as Cu, Fe, Mn and Mo are micronutrients. Though being essential for some physiological and biochemical functions of the human body, they may have potential to cause acute or chronic toxicities if their contents are too high. Other heavy metals like As, Cd, Pb and Tl are of the particular concern due to their high toxicity and harmful impact on human health.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have issued a list of regulatory guidelines of heavy elements in drinking water.^[2,3] In this study, the concentrations of these elements were quantitated in four commercial fruit juices by ICP-MS method and compared against the WHO and US EPA guidelines values.