Plant-based milk alternatives: Assessing the occurrence of chemical and microbiological contaminants in soy, oat, rice and almond beverages from Italian market

In the recent years, the global market of plant-based beverages consumed as milk alternatives has grown consistently. Plant-based beverages may be exposed to chemical and microbiological contamination through different steps of the production chain. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential chemical and microbiological contamination of plant-based beverages available on the Italian market and produced from soy, oat, almond and rice raw materials. To this purpose the occurrence of pesticides, mycotoxins, toxic trace elements and tropane alkaloids was assessed in 42 plant-based beverages. The presence of Bacillus cereus was tested to evaluate the microbiological contamination. None of the analyzed samples were affected by the contamination with pesticides and mycotoxins. Lead was quantified in 3 soy-based, 3 almond-based and one oat-based sample. Cadmium was detected in one rice and 7 soy-based samples. The presence of quantifiable levels of arsenic was detected in all the analyzed rice-based beverages. All samples contained quantifiable concentrations of chromium and nickel. Atropine was detected in 3 soy-based samples. The present preliminary survey reveals the occurrence of multiple contaminants, particularly in soy-based beverages, and opens up the need for further investigations concerning the potential contribution of these products to the exposure to chemical contaminants.