No abstract

Honey usually contains a variety of mineral substances. Ninety five samples of known geographic and botanic origin were analyzed in order to detect possible contamination by common air pollution or other pathways. It was found that most elements correlate significantly with electrical conductivity. The contamination level of the toxic elements Pb and Cd measured in our study was low. There were differences between the honeys produced in the different areas only with regard to Fe and Cr content. The concentrations of the other trace elements measured in the present study, Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, Mn and Fe, were similar to the values found in other recent studies. All of the trace elements determined in this work can be both from natural sources (soil, plants) and anthropogenic sources. Pb, Cd, and Zn especially, but also Cu, Cr, and Ni, are well known as potential air or soil contaminants of anthropogenic origin, but are of course also found as natural ingredients of soil minerals, as are also Fe and Mn. Variation in trace element content in different honey types is primarily due to botanical origin rather than geographical and environmental exposition of nectar sources.Minerales en la miel: aspectos ambientales, geográficos y botánicos.La miel normalmente contiene una variedad de sustancias minerales. Noventa y cinco muestras con origen geográfico y botánico conocidos fueron analizadas con el objetivo de detectar la posible contaminación por la polución del aire o de otras vías. Se encontró que la mayoría de los elementos se correlacionan significativamente con la conductividad eléctrica. El nivel de contaminación medido en nuestro estudio de los elementos tóxicos de Cd y Pb fue bajo. Sólo hay diferencias entre las mieles producidas en diferentes áreas en relación con el contenido de Fe y Cr. Las concentraciones medidas en el presente trabajo de otros oligoelementos como Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, Mn y Fe, fueron similares a los valores encontrados en otros estudios recientes. Todos los oligoelementos determinados en este estudio pueden ser tanto de fuentes naturales (suelo, plantas) como de fuentes antropogénicas. Especialmente el Pb, Cd, Zn, pero también el Cu, Cr y Ni, son bien conocidos como contaminantes potenciales del aire o el suelo de origen antropogénico, pero además, son componentes naturales de los minerales del suelo, como lo son también el Fe y Mn. La variación del contenido de oligoelementos en los distintos tipos de miel se debe principalmente al origen botánico de las fuentes de néctar más que al geográfico y ambiental.

In countries in which iodized salt programs supply sufficient iodine to older children and pregnant women, weaning infants, particularly those not receiving iodine-containing IFM, may be at risk of inadequate iodine intakes.

A new ICP-MS method for the determination of iodine in food samples is presented. The method makes use of a new miniature cyclonic spray chamber and a concentric glass nebulizer that is designed for low sample uptakes and is operated in a self-aspirating mode. As a consequence the wash-out was accelerated over conventional systems. This configuration allows the direct determination of iodine in mineralized solutions following digestion with nitric acid only. No strong oxidizing reagents such as perchloric acid or lengthy sample preparation were necessary to alter the chemical form of potentially volatile species. The isotope dilution technique using the long-lived isotope 129I was applied to obtain freedom from matrix effects. The present study reports on results for total iodine in selected nutritional and biological reference materials and makes a comparison with instrumental neutron activation analysis.