[Mineral migration from stainless steel, cast iron and soapstone (steatite) Brazilian pans to food preparations].
Culinary utensils may release some inorganic elements during food preparation. Mineral migration can be beneficial for as long as it occurs in amounts adequate to the needs of the consumer or no toxicological implications are involved. In this study, the migrations of Fe, Mg, Mn, Cr, Ni and Ca, along seven cooking cycles were evaluated for two food preparations (polished rice and commercial tomato sauce, the latter as an acid food), performed in unused stainless steel, cast iron and soapstone pans, taking refractory glass as a blank. Minerals were determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES). The utensils studied exhibited different rates, patterns and variability of migration depending on the type of food. Regression analysis of the data revealed that, as a function of the number of cycles, the iron pans released increasing amounts of iron when tomato sauce was cooked (y = 70.76x + 276.75; R2 = 0.77). The soapstone pans released calcium (35 and 26 mg/kg), magnesium (25 and 15 mg/kg) into the tomato sauce and rice preparations, respectively. Additionally, the commercial tomato sauce drew manganese (3.9 and 0.6 mg/kg) and some undesirable nickel (1.0 mg/kg) from the soapstone material, whereas the stainless steel pans released nickel at a lower rate than steatite and in a diminishing fashion with the number o cooking cycles, while still transferring some iron and chromium to the food. We conclude that while cast iron and glass could be best for the consumer's nutritional health, stainless steel and steatite can be used with relatively low risk, provided acid foods are not routinely prepared in those materials.
Quintaes
Késia Diego
KD
Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Núcleo de Estudos e Pesquisas em Alimentação, Instituto de Tecnologia de Alimentos, Centro de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento de Química de Alimentos e Nutrição, Campinas, SP, Brasil.
Farfan
Jaime Amaya
JA
Tomazini
Fernanda Mariana
FM
Morgano
Marcelo Antônio
MA
D003297:Cooking and Eating Utensils; D005504:Food Analysis; D006801:Humans; D007501:Iron / Q000032:analysis*; D008277:Magnesium Oxide / Q000032:analysis*; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000032:analysis*; D013193:Stainless Steel / Q000032:analysis*; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry
D014131:Trace Elements; D013193:Stainless Steel; D008277:Magnesium Oxide; C089766:steatite; D012822:Silicon Dioxide; D007501:Iron