Advertisement

If you have an ACS member number, please enter it here so we can link this account to your membership. (optional)

ACS values your privacy. By submitting your information, you are gaining access to C&EN and subscribing to our weekly newsletter. We use the information you provide to make your reading experience better, and we will never sell your data to third party members.

ENJOY UNLIMITED ACCES TO C&EN

Analytical Chemistry

Cautionary Tale For Food Analysis

ACS Meeting News: Inappropriate methods skewed results for arsenic in apple juice

by Celia Henry Arnaud
August 27, 2012 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 90, Issue 35

The methods used by some laboratories to measure arsenic in juice can yield results that are biased high, reported William Mindak, a scientist at the Food & Drug Administration. Last fall, the television program “The Dr. Oz Show” questioned the safety of national apple juice brands, claiming that its analysis showed that some of them contained arsenic concentrations that exceeded the regulatory levels for drinking water. When FDA measured samples from the same lot of one of the brands, Mindak said, its scientists found much lower arsenic concentrations, by a factor of four to five. Mindak undertook a study to figure out why the labs’ results differed so much. He found that the contract lab, which did not regularly perform food analysis, had used a modified wastewater method, which called for larger sample volumes than FDA’s method. As a consequence, the apple juice was inadequately digested to remove carbon, which enhances the arsenic measurement. Mindak cautioned contract labs that are considering moving into food analysis to choose their methods with care, because foods are a more complicated matrix than many environmental samples.

Article:

This article has been sent to the following recipient:

0 /1 FREE ARTICLES LEFT THIS MONTH Remaining
Chemistry matters. Join us to get the news you need.