Heavy metals in baby foods: Regulatory updates and analytical solutions

In February 2021, a report from the US House Committee on Oversight and Reform stated that commercial baby foods could contain dangerous levels of heavy metals including arsenic, lead, cadmium, and mercury.

In this webinar, get the most recent updates of governmental regulations and industry practices regarding the requirements of heavy metals testing of baby foods from Justyce Jedlicka, Food and Beverage Regulatory Liaison at MilliporeSigma, and hear about all the currently available analytical methods that can detect heavy metals for both manufacturers and third-party testing labs from Dr. Yanqi Qu, Food and Beverage Safety and Quality Technologist at MilliporeSigma.

Read in for highlights from the live Q&A session or register to watch the webinar at a time that suits you.

Which analytical method is the best method for rapid detection of heavy metals in baby foods?

YQ: The most rapid method for heavy metals testing right now is done using colorimetric testing strips or a UV spectrophotometer, which can also give you results within seconds. Even though these are the fastest methods, they really only work for high levels of heavy metals and, if you are working with paste or oil-based samples, you will need more sample preparation for the analysis.

How should I determine which technology, such as inductively coupled plasma (ICP) spectroscopy or atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS), is best for my lab?

YQ: For all the standard methods I mentioned, they are done through ICP. In general, ICP is more sensitive then AAS. However, a disadvantage of using ICP is that it is a more complicated and expensive process. AAS is beneficial for single-element analysis, but if you wanted to detect several types of heavy metals then ICP is recommended.

It’s been mentioned that exposure levels can be low, however babies might be exposed to more than one toxic metal at a time, with potentially synergistic adverse effects. Do the regulations account for simultaneous exposure to toxic metals?

JJ: This question is very relevant to what needs to be done. There are two important things to consider when creating regulations surrounding these toxic levels. The first is, are we able to detect these levels using our available methodology to ensure that we are able to detect what is safe and potentially toxic. The other factor is at what levels and, importantly, what cumulative levels considering all the different metals is acceptable, and how that really affects the health and safety of our most vulnerable population. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of supportive research to help create the proper regulations and advise what these levels should be. That’s a challenge to the industry and academia to make progress in this area so that we can have regulations that really do promote health and safety.

Sample preparation is critical for high quality results. How can we treat samples to be analyzed for heavy metals?

YQ: The first step is very critical as you have to use high-purity acids and these acids are the key to decompose the tissue or digest the matrix to release the heavy metals. If your sample is something like juice, you may not need a filtration stage, but if not, you definitely need to use membrane filters to remove impurities. This should leave you with a clear solution. The concentration within the sample will be low, so that’s why we heat samples in order to evaporate the acids and water content, leaving us with just the dried products. You can then reconstitute your sample using ultra-pure water or acids, to a smaller volume containing a higher concentration of the heavy metals.

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