Evaluation of cadmium, lead, copper, iron and zinc in Turkish dietary vegetable oils and olives using electrothermal and flame atomic absorption spectrometry

Abstract

The Cd, Pb, Cu, Fe and Zn contents of some edible vegetable oils (soybean, sunflower, flower, nut, corn and olive) and of olives (olive-1, black, green, black crushed with seeds and green crushed with seeds) were determined and evaluated by an electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometer (ETAAS) using an Sc + Ir + NH4H2PO4 chemical modifier mixture and flame atomic absorption spectrometer (FAAS) after microwave digestion. The pyrolysis and atomization temperatures of Cd, Pb and Cu in sample solutions with and without the modifier mixture were investigated. The limits of detection (LOD) for analytes found are 0.1, 0.6, 0.9, 15.0 and 12.0 μg L-1 for Cd, Cu, Pb, Fe and Zn, respectively. The accuracy of the procedure proposed was confirmed by analyzing bovine liver 1577b standard reference material (SRM) and a spiked sample solution. The results of the analytes found were compared with certified and added values. The relative standard deviations of the analytes found were lower than 7% and the percent of recoveries obtained ranges from 96 to 101%. The Sc + Ir + NH4H2PO4 mixture proposed was applied for the determination of Cd, Pb and Cu in oils and olives. The results of analytes found in the samples were compared with international and national food quality guidelines as well as with literature values.