title: A need for determination of arsenic species at low levels in cereal-based food and infant cereals. Validation of a method by IC-ICPMS.
abstract: 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 (IC-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 μg As kg(-1), respectively. The present method could be considered a valuable tool for assessing inorganic arsenic contents in cereal-based foods.
authors.affiliation: Department of Analytical Chemistry, University of Barcelona, Martí i Franquès 1-11, Barcelona ES-08028, Spain.
authors.forename: Toni
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Llorente-Mirandes
authors.forename: Josep
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Calderón
authors.forename: Francesc
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Centrich
authors.forename: Roser
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rubio
authors.forename: José Fermín
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: López-Sánchez
mesh_terms: D001151:Arsenic / Q000032:analysis*; D002523:Edible Grain / Q000737:chemistry*; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D007225:Infant Food / Q000032:analysis*; D013058:Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D001151:Arsenic
keywords: Arsenic speciation; Cereal-based food; Food chemistry; Infant cereals; Inorganic arsenic; Method validation