Microwave Digestion of Large Mixed Food Samples

Introduction

The ability to analyze heavy metals in food materials is essential for food safety and consumer health. Arsenic and other heavy metals such as cadmium, lead, and mercury are considered toxic and have adverse health effects in human metabolism. These toxins are only tolerated at extremely low concentrations and excesses are associated with many adverse health effects. They may injure the kidney and cause symptoms of chronic toxicity, including impaired organ function and tumors. Exposure to lead has been associated with reduced IQ and general learning disability. In addition to safety, food analysis is also important to ensure product quality and to determine country of origin as well as possible counterfeiting. This application note will focus on the use of iPrep vessels to prepare a variety of food types using much larger sample sizes than previously possible. These samples will include foods high in sugars, proteins and fat. The food materials, with varied sample sizes, will be digested in a single run in order to illustrate the versatility of the preparation.