title: Total arsenic in selected food samples from Argentina: Estimation of their contribution to inorganic arsenic dietary intake.
abstract: An optimized flow injection hydride generation atomic absorption spectroscopy (FI-HGAAS) method was used to determine total arsenic in selected food samples (beef, chicken, fish, milk, cheese, egg, rice, rice-based products, wheat flour, corn flour, oats, breakfast cereals, legumes and potatoes) and to estimate their contributions to inorganic arsenic dietary intake. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) values obtained were 6μgkg(-)(1) and 18μgkg(-)(1), respectively. The mean recovery range obtained for all food at a fortification level of 200μgkg(-)(1) was 85-110%. Accuracy was evaluated using dogfish liver certified reference material (DOLT-3 NRC) for trace metals. The highest total arsenic concentrations (in μgkg(-)(1)) were found in fish (152-439), rice (87-316) and rice-based products (52-201). The contribution to inorganic arsenic (i-As) intake was calculated from the mean i-As content of each food (calculated by applying conversion factors to total arsenic data) and the mean consumption per day. The primary contributors to inorganic arsenic intake were wheat flour, including its proportion in wheat flour-based products (breads, pasta and cookies), followed by rice; both foods account for close to 53% and 17% of the intake, respectively. The i-As dietary intake, estimated as 10.7μgday(-)(1), was significantly lower than that from drinking water in vast regions of Argentina.
authors.affiliation: Programa de Investigación y Análisis de Residuos y Contaminantes Químicos - PRINARC, Facultad de Ingeniería Química, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Santiago del Estero 2654-Piso 6, 3000 Santa Fe, Argentina. Electronic address: msigrist@fiq.unl.edu.ar.
authors.forename: Mirna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sigrist
authors.affiliation: Programa de Investigación y Análisis de Residuos y Contaminantes Químicos - PRINARC, Facultad de Ingeniería Química, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Santiago del Estero 2654-Piso 6, 3000 Santa Fe, Argentina.
authors.forename: Nandi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hilbe
authors.affiliation: Programa de Investigación y Análisis de Residuos y Contaminantes Químicos - PRINARC, Facultad de Ingeniería Química, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Santiago del Estero 2654-Piso 6, 3000 Santa Fe, Argentina.
authors.forename: Lucila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Brusa
authors.affiliation: Programa de Investigación y Análisis de Residuos y Contaminantes Químicos - PRINARC, Facultad de Ingeniería Química, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Santiago del Estero 2654-Piso 6, 3000 Santa Fe, Argentina.
authors.forename: Darío
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Campagnoli
authors.affiliation: Programa de Investigación y Análisis de Residuos y Contaminantes Químicos - PRINARC, Facultad de Ingeniería Química, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Santiago del Estero 2654-Piso 6, 3000 Santa Fe, Argentina.
authors.forename: Horacio
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Beldoménico
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001118:Argentina; D001151:Arsenic / Q000032:analysis*; D002417:Cattle; D002645:Chickens; D060766:Drinking Water / Q000032:analysis; D005399:Fishes; D005433:Flour / Q000032:analysis*; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D008460:Meat / Q000032:analysis; D008892:Milk / Q000737:chemistry; D012275:Oryza / Q000737:chemistry; D013054:Spectrophotometry, Atomic / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D060766:Drinking Water; D001151:Arsenic
keywords: Argentinean dietary intake; FI-HGAAS; Food; Inorganic arsenic