Inorganic contaminants (As, Cd, Pb) in peeled and whole potatoes and sweet potatoes

Vegetables are a rich source of macro and micronutrients. Particularly, potatoes and sweet potatoes are widely consumed and are two of the most important food crops in the world. Therefore, contamination of these products due to their content of inorganic contaminants is of great concern. Conside...

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Main Authors: Alexandra Sixto, Alicia Mollo, Facundo Ibañez, Mariela Pistón
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidad de la República, Facultad de Agronomía 2023-02-01
Series:Agrociencia Uruguay
Subjects:
Online Access:https://agrocienciauruguay.uy/index.php/agrociencia/article/view/1060/1320
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author Alexandra Sixto
Alicia Mollo
Facundo Ibañez
Mariela Pistón
author_facet Alexandra Sixto
Alicia Mollo
Facundo Ibañez
Mariela Pistón
author_sort Alexandra Sixto
collection DOAJ
description Vegetables are a rich source of macro and micronutrients. Particularly, potatoes and sweet potatoes are widely consumed and are two of the most important food crops in the world. Therefore, contamination of these products due to their content of inorganic contaminants is of great concern. Considering the healthy trend of consuming these tubers and roots with their skins, which are rich in fiber and other nutrients, analysis of the whole product could provide valuable information in relation to their food safety. Therefore, the presence of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) in peeled and whole potatoes and sweet potatoes was studied. To do so, analytical methods were optimized and validated according to the Association of Official Analytical Collaboration International (AOAC) requirements for food analysis. Although the content of As, Cd and Pb was in most cases more than three times below the maximum allowed levels for these contaminants, the presence of Cd was detected in the samples of whole sweet potato but not in the peeled ones. The same behavior was observed for Pb in most of the sweet potato samples analyzed. This information points to the need to generate information on the whole root and tuber contaminants content, and to have analytical methods available to gather data on the occurrence of these contaminants in the whole vegetable in order to perform their risk assessment according to the consumption habits.
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spelling doaj.art-c2f3277918974e59ace676cc8e1c775f2023-09-03T12:24:14ZengUniversidad de la República, Facultad de AgronomíaAgrociencia Uruguay2730-50662023-02-0127e106010.31285/AGRO.27.1060Inorganic contaminants (As, Cd, Pb) in peeled and whole potatoes and sweet potatoesAlexandra Sixto0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6844-786XAlicia Mollo1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1887-063XFacundo Ibañez2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7893-5568Mariela Pistón3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6762-5852Universidad de la República, Facultad de Química, Grupo de Análisis de Elementos Traza y Desarrollo de Estrategias Simples para Preparación de Muestras (GATPREM), Montevideo, UruguayUniversidad de la República, Facultad de Química, Analytical Chemistry, Montevideo, UruguayInstituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria (INIA), Estación Experimental Las Brujas, Plataforma de Agroalimentos, Canelones, UruguayUniversidad de la República, Facultad de Química, Grupo de Análisis de Elementos Traza y Desarrollo de Estrategias Simples para Preparación de Muestras (GATPREM), Montevideo, UruguayVegetables are a rich source of macro and micronutrients. Particularly, potatoes and sweet potatoes are widely consumed and are two of the most important food crops in the world. Therefore, contamination of these products due to their content of inorganic contaminants is of great concern. Considering the healthy trend of consuming these tubers and roots with their skins, which are rich in fiber and other nutrients, analysis of the whole product could provide valuable information in relation to their food safety. Therefore, the presence of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) in peeled and whole potatoes and sweet potatoes was studied. To do so, analytical methods were optimized and validated according to the Association of Official Analytical Collaboration International (AOAC) requirements for food analysis. Although the content of As, Cd and Pb was in most cases more than three times below the maximum allowed levels for these contaminants, the presence of Cd was detected in the samples of whole sweet potato but not in the peeled ones. The same behavior was observed for Pb in most of the sweet potato samples analyzed. This information points to the need to generate information on the whole root and tuber contaminants content, and to have analytical methods available to gather data on the occurrence of these contaminants in the whole vegetable in order to perform their risk assessment according to the consumption habits.https://agrocienciauruguay.uy/index.php/agrociencia/article/view/1060/1320inorganic contaminantspotatoessweet potatoesfood safetytrace metals
spellingShingle Alexandra Sixto
Alicia Mollo
Facundo Ibañez
Mariela Pistón
Inorganic contaminants (As, Cd, Pb) in peeled and whole potatoes and sweet potatoes
Agrociencia Uruguay
inorganic contaminants
potatoes
sweet potatoes
food safety
trace metals
title Inorganic contaminants (As, Cd, Pb) in peeled and whole potatoes and sweet potatoes
title_full Inorganic contaminants (As, Cd, Pb) in peeled and whole potatoes and sweet potatoes
title_fullStr Inorganic contaminants (As, Cd, Pb) in peeled and whole potatoes and sweet potatoes
title_full_unstemmed Inorganic contaminants (As, Cd, Pb) in peeled and whole potatoes and sweet potatoes
title_short Inorganic contaminants (As, Cd, Pb) in peeled and whole potatoes and sweet potatoes
title_sort inorganic contaminants as cd pb in peeled and whole potatoes and sweet potatoes
topic inorganic contaminants
potatoes
sweet potatoes
food safety
trace metals
url https://agrocienciauruguay.uy/index.php/agrociencia/article/view/1060/1320
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