The determination of As and Sb in red and white wines by graphite furnace Zeeman atomic absorption spectrometry is described. The wine can be analyzed directly, provided a matrix modifier is used. Three modifiers have been tested; palladium nitrate was found to be superior to nickel nitrate and nickel sulphate. The sensitivity and detection limits were improved when the wine was decomposed with a mixture of nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide prior to analysis. Two different decomposition systems (Tecator and Bethge) were employed without loss of analyte. The concentration of As and Sb was found to be below 10 g/L for all the wine samples. The standard addition method was used for the quantitative determination.

Nine laboratories participated in an interlaboratory method performance (collaborative) study of a method for the determination of sodium in foods by flame atomic absorption spectrometry after wet digestion, using a microwave oven technique. Before the study, the laboratories were able to practice on samples with defined sodium levels (pretrial test). The method was tested on a total of 6 foods (broccoli, carrot, bread, saithe fillet, pork, and cheese) with sodium concentrations of 1480–8260 mg/kg. The materials were presented to the participants in the study as blind duplicates, and the participants were asked to perform single determinations for each sample. The repeatability relative standard deviations (RSDr) for sodium ranged from 1.9 to 6.5%. The reproducibility relative standard deviations (RSDR) ranged from 4.2 to 6.9%. The HorRat values ranged from 0.9 to 1.6.