Investigation of palladium and platinum levels in food by sector field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Over the last two decades, there has been increased concern regarding the impact of some noble metals, such as Pd and Pt, on human health. These elements pollute the environment due to their widespread use as catalytic converters and in medical applications. The risk they pose to human health and the environment is still controversial; however, literature data point to diet as an important source of uptake by the human body. Within this context, the total Pd and Pt content of several Italian food commodities has been investigated. A total of 90 samples, including flour products, vegetables and foodstuffs of animal origin (meat, milk and eggs), were collected and freeze-dried. Samples were analyzed by sector field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (SF-ICP-MS) after chopping or crushing followed by freeze-drying and microwave (MW)-assisted acid digestion in a Class-100 clean-room. A mathematical approach was adopted to correct the mass signals for still unresolved interference (ml Delta m = 300, 10 000). The lowest and highest concentrations of Pt, i.e. 17 and 93 ng kg(-1) (dry weight, dw), were found in vegetables and flour products, respectively. The lowest Pd level (2830 ng kg(-1) dw) was found in eggs and the highest (47 800 ng kg(-1) dw) in vegetables.