Concentration of Essential, Toxic, and Rare Earth Elements in Ready-to-Eat Baby Purees from the Spanish Market

• Published in: Nutrients Vol. 15; no. 14; p. 3251
• Main Authors: Henríquez-Hernández, Luis Alberto, Acosta-Dacal, Andrea Carolina, Boada, Luis D, Zumbado, Manuel, Serra-Majem, Lluis, Luzardo, Octavio P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.07.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Babies; baby food; Baby foods; Breastfeeding & lactation; Chemical elements; Coal-fired power plants; Food; Food contamination; food safety; Heavy metals; International organizations; Manufacturing; Marketing; Pollutants; Private labeling; Rare earth elements; Rare earth metals; Raw materials; Risk assessment; Selenium; Supermarkets; Trace elements; Spain; chemical elements; food safety; risk assessment; baby food; heavy metals; rare earth elements
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu15143251

The infant population is particularly sensitive, so the risk posed by their diet must be analyzed. The aims of the present study were (i) to determine the contents of 38 elements in 159 samples of ready-to-eat baby food sold in Spain and (ii) to estimate the dietary intakes and risk assessments of these elements in name brands and store brands in infants ranging between 6 and 12 months of age. A list of essential, non-essential/toxic elements, rare earth elements (REEs), and other hi-tech-related elements that are currently considered as emerging environmental pollutants were measured in ready-to-eat baby foods by ICP-MS. Fish purees showed the highest concentrations of mercury (28.1 ng/g) and arsenic (346.2 ng/g). The levels of manganese, molybdenum, and chromium exceed the adequate intake, being higher in the case of store brands. The acute hazard index was above 1 for molybdenum and manganese. A risky consumption of thallium and mercury was observed, being higher among name brands. The risk associated with the consumption of REEs was low, although its presence should be highlighted. This is the first time that these chemical elements have been measured in ready-to-eat purees for babies. The presence of some of them, such as mercury, should be sufficient to monitor the levels of these contaminants in food intended for such a sensitive population as children.