Determination of Toxic Elements in Food by ICP-MS Using AOAC Method 2015.01

Trace elements can be taken up by crops and animals from the air, water, soil, and food during growth, or introduced during food processing. Although some of these elements are essential macronutrients, others are toxic. Through food consumption, humans are exposed to toxic elements with the risk increasing proportionately to the amount consumed, which can have neurological-, endocrine-, and exocrine-disrupting properties, as well as being potentially genotoxic or carcinogenic. As a result, the contamination of food and water by toxic elements is of great concern because concentrations can be present at trace to ultra-trace levels, requiring sensitive and reliable analytical techniques for accurate measurement. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is a powerful elemental analysis technique with multi-element detection capabilities, low detection limits, high speed of analysis, and wide linear dynamic range. However, it is also susceptible to interfering species, leading to the formation of polyatomic and doubly charged ions. Here, we evaluate the performance characteristics of ICP-MS to carry out the validation procedures and QC requirements defined in AOAC Method 2015.01.