Toxic Trace Element Contents in Gluten-free Cereal Bars Marketed in Argentina

Melisa Jazmín Hidalgo¹, Roxana Noelia Villafañe^{2, 3}, Sonia Cecilia Sgroppo¹, Eduardo Jorge Marchevsky^{2, 3} and Roberto Gerardo Pellerano^{1, 3,}

¹Department of Chemistry, FaCENa, National University of the Northeast, 3400, Corrientes, Argentina

²Instituto de Química San Luis, National University of San Luis, 5700, San Luis, Argentina

³Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, CONICET, C1033AAJ, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Cite this paper:
Melisa Jazmín Hidalgo, Roxana Noelia Villafañe, Sonia Cecilia Sgroppo, Eduardo Jorge Marchevsky and Roberto Gerardo Pellerano. Toxic Trace Element Contents in Gluten-free Cereal Bars Marketed in Argentina. International Journal of Celiac Disease. 2015; 3(1):12-16. doi: 10.12691/ijcd-3-1-4

Abstract

Celiac disease is a food intolerance triggered by the ingestion of gluten-containing cereals; the only therapy is a strict gluten-free diet for life. In recent years, gluten-free cereal bars has achieved considerable attention as an interesting alternative food considering its several advantages, such as functional properties, nutritional contents, variety of presentations and flavors. The aim of this study was to determine the contents of three toxic trace elements (arsenic, cadmium and lead) in commercial gluten-free cereal bars marketed in Argentina by ICP-MS and assess the dietary intake of the three toxic elements compared with reference values. The results obtained indicated that the highest total concentration of arsenic is provided by the gluten-free cereal bars with green apple pomace (28.2 µg/kg) and the levels of cadmium were lower than 10 µg/kg or even below MDL in all samples. The lead contents in all bars with honey samples were exceptionally higher than in the other samples (levels greater than 130 µg/kg). The intake of available gluten-free cereal bars are generally safe for consumers, but particular attention should be paid to monitor the content of arsenic and lead gluten-free cereal bars to ensure the quality of the product. Further studies are necessary to achieve an exact risk evaluation, concerning the bioavailability of trace elements in gluten-free food sources.

Keywords:
food analysis trace elements atomic spectrometry arsenic cadmium lead

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

References:

[1]	Mlyneková, Z., Chrenková, M., Formelová, Z., “Cereals and Legumes in Nutrition of People with Celiac Disease”, International Journal of Celiac Disease, 2, 105-109, 2014.
[2]	Litwinek, D., Ziobro, R., Gambus, H., Sikora, M., “Gluten Free Bread in a Diet of Celiacs”, International Journal of Celiac Disease, 2, 11-16, 2014.
[3]	Aigster, A., Duncan, S.E., Conforti, F.D., Barbeau, W.E., “Physicochemical properties and sensory attributes of resistant starch-supplemented granola bars and cereals”, LWT - Food Science and Technology, 44, 2159-2165, 2011.
[4]	Brito, A.L.B., Brito, L.R., Honorato, F.A., Pontes, M.J.C., Pontes, L.F.B.L., “Classification of cereal bars using near infrared spectroscopy and linear discriminant analysis”, Food Research International, 51, 924-928, 2013.
[5]	Khan, N., Jeong, I.S., Hwang, I.M., Kim, J.S., Choi, S.H., Nho, E.Y., Choi, J.Y., Kwak, B.-M., Ahn, J.-H., Yoon, T., Kim, K.S., “Method validation for simultaneous determination of chromium, molybdenum and selenium in infant formulas by ICP-OES and ICP-MS”, Food Chemistry, 141, 3566-3570, 2013.
[6]	Thomsen, V., Schatzlein, D., Mercuro, D., “Limit of detection in spectroscopy”, Spectroscopy, 18(12), 112-114, 2003.
[7]	World Health Organization - International Agency for Research on Cancer, IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans, 2012.
[8]	Lynch, H.N., Greenberg, G.I., Pollock, M.C., Lewis, A.S., “A comprehensive evaluation of inorganic arsenic in food and considerations for dietary intake analyses”, Science of the Total Environment, 496, 299-313, 2014.
[9]	Munera-Picazo, S., Ramírez-Gandolfo, A., Cascio, C., Castaño-Iglesias, C., Signes-Pastor, A.J., Burló, F., Haris, P.I., Carbonell-Barrachina, Á.A., Chapter 29 - Arsenic in Rice-Based Infant Foods, in: R.R.W.R.P. Zibadi (Ed.) Wheat and Rice in Disease Prevention and Health, Academic Press, San Diego, 2014, pp. 377-391.
[10]	Orecchio, S., Amorello, D., Raso, M., Barreca, S., Lino, C., Di Gaudio, F., “Determination of trace elements in gluten-free food for celiac people by ICP-MS”, Microchemical Journal, 116, 163-172, 2014.
[11]	Hernández-Martínez, R., Navarro-Blasco, I., “Survey of total mercury and arsenic content in infant cereals marketed in Spain and estimated dietary intake”, Food Control, 30(2), 423-432, 2013.
[12]	Llorente-Mirandes, T., Calderón, J., Centrich, F., Rubio, R., López-Sánchez, J.F., “A need for determination of arsenic species at low levels in cereal-based food and infant cereals. Validation of a method by IC–ICPMS”, Food Chemistry, 147, 377-385, 2014.
[13]	Pandelova, M., Lopez, W.L., Michalke, B., Schramm, K.-W., “Ca, Cd, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Se, and Zn contents in baby foods from the EU market: Comparison of assessed infant intakes with the present safety limits for minerals and trace elements”, Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 27, 120-127, 2012.
[14]	Hernández-Martínez, R., Navarro-Blasco, I., “Estimation of dietary intake and content of lead and cadmium in infant cereals marketed in Spain”, Food Control, 26(1), 6-14, 2012.
[15]	Dahiya, S., Karpe, R., Hegde, A.G., Sharma, R.M., “Lead, cadmium and nickel in chocolates and candies from suburban areas of Mumbai, India”, Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 18, 517-522, 2005.
[16]	Yanus, R.L., Sela, H., Borojovich, E.J.C., Zakon, Y., Saphier, M., Nikolski, A., Gutflais, E., Lorber, A., Karpas, Z., “Trace elements in cocoa solids and chocolate: An ICPMS study”, Talanta, 119, 1-4, 2014.
[17]	EFSA, (European Food Safety Authority), “Scientific Opinion on Lead in Food”, EFSA Journal, 8(4), 1570-1721, 2010.
[18]	EFSA, (European Food Safety Authority), “Lead dietary exposure in the European population”, EFSA Journal, 10(7), 2831, 2012.
[19]	Commission of the European Communities, “Commission regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 of 19 December 2006 setting maximum levels for certain contaminants in foodstuffs”, Official Journal of European Union, L364, 5-23, 2006.
[20]	Noël, L., Chekri, R., Millour, S., Vastel, C., Kadar, A., Sirot, V., Leblanc, J.-C., Guérin, T., “Li, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Se and Mo levels in foodstuffs from the Second French TDS”, Food Chemistry, 132, 1502-1513, 2012.