Aluminum Content in Foods and Beverages Consumed in the Spanish Diet

A reliable and rapid method for determining aluminum content in foods and beverages was developed using electrothermal atomization-atomic absorption spectrometry (ETA-AAS) using previous optimization of the time-temperature program for the graphite furnace. The samples were subjected to acid mineralization with HNO₃ and V₂O₅. The technique used slurries for assay in samples of dairy products. The detection limit was 4.0 pg. The mean recovery obtained ranged from 98.5% to 99.0%. The variation coefficient ranged from 3.2% to 5.2%. The results obtained ranged from 1.362 to 6.610 μg/g in seafood, 0.171 to 29.688 μg/g in vegetables, 19.560 to 70.100 μg/g in olive oil, 0.424 to 6.430 μg/g in dairy products and 25.600 to 58.057 μg/g in stimulant drinks and infusions. This study contributes new data on the Al content of a variety of foods and beverages in Spain and such data are important for composition tables. The higher presence corresponded to seafood, vegetables and dairy products. Their contribution to Al dietary intake were estimated.