Evaluation of arsenic concentration in poultry and calf meat samples by hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry

Abstract

A simple, cost effective hydride generation atomic florescence spectrometry (HG-AFS) method was used for determination of total arsenic (As) in poultry and calf meat samples. The samples were digested in long necked glass digestion tubes using concentrated HNO3, HClO4 and H2SO4 as a mixture. The volume of acids (HNO3, HClO4) and the amount of sample to be used for digestion were optimized to achieve appropriate digestion. The accuracy of the proposed HG-AFS method was tested with certified reference material (DOLT 3 Dogfish Liver, NRC, Canada) and obtained results were in good agreement with certified value. The method limit of detection (LOD) value was calculated as 0.3 ng/g and dynamic range was 25 – 5000 pg/ml. Arsenic concentrations of poultry and calf meat samples were determined accurately by using aqueous calibration standards. Totally 31 samples (calf, chicken and turkey) obtained from local markets were analyzed. It was found that the average As concentration in calf meat (12.1 ± 3.9 ng/g) was significantly higher than the poultry samples whereas the arsenic concentrations were similar in turkey (3.1 ± 1.2 ng/g) and chicken (2.8 ± 1.1 ng/g) samples. In addition, dietary intake estimation of arsenic through consumption of calf and poultry meat was calculated and according to the gathered results daily intake of arsenic via calf meat was almost two times higher than poultry meat.