Comparative elemental analysis of dairy milk and plant-based milk alternatives

Together with essential elements, toxic elements can also be found in food. In this study, we analysed the content of 41 elements in milk from mammals (cow, goat, and donkey) and plant-based milk alternatives (from soy, rice, oat, spelt, almond, coconut, hazelnut, walnut, cashew, hemp, and quinoa) using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and cold vapour generation atomic fluorescence (for Hg). The analytical methods were validated using both milk certified reference materials and recovery experiments for different milk samples, obtaining satisfactory results in all cases. Only cow and goat milks were important sources of all major mineral elements like Ca, K, Mg, Na and P, and some minor elements like Se and Zn, while soy milk contained significant amounts of Cu and Fe, coconut milk contained Cr and Se, and hemp milk contained Mo. The level of toxic trace elements, including As, Cd, Hg, and Pb was very low in all analysed samples and did not pose any threat to consumers. The study is of significance for consumers of plant-based beverages from nutritional and food safety point of view.