Overview
Anastácio and colleagues measured arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, nickel and manganese in 21 commercial fruit juices from four brands that the Portuguese food safety authority collected in 2016. Table 3 gives one mean per juice in micrograms per litre. Arsenic exceeded the Portuguese drinking-water value of 10 µg/L in four juices, while lead stayed below 10 µg/L in all juices.
Key numbers
- Multi-fruit juice 4: arsenic 13.38, lead 7.05 µg/L; red fruits juice 1: arsenic 10.73, cadmium 1.77, lead 4.11 µg/L (Table 3).
- Apple juice 1: arsenic 8.78, lead 6.11 µg/L, cadmium below the quantification limit (Table 3).
- Orange juices 1 to 4: arsenic below the quantification limit to 10.24 µg/L, lead below the quantification limit to 2.49 µg/L (Table 3).
- Peach juice 1 had the highest lead, 8.51 µg/L; lead was below the quantification limit in six of 21 juices (Table 3).
Methods (brief)
Juices (3 mL) were microwave-digested with nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide. Arsenic was measured by hydride generation AAS and the other elements by graphite furnace AAS. Quantification limits were 0.31 µg/L for lead, 0.69 for cadmium and 1.87 for arsenic. Validation reported repeatability below 7% RSD and accuracy of 84 to 111%; no certified reference material was reported.
Evidence Fitness
A small sample (21 juices, one per product) from four brands, with results per litre and no density for conversion to µg/kg. Replicate numbers are described inconsistently, and the Table 4 summary disagrees with Table 3 for a few cells. Commercial packaged juices and nectars are direct evidence for fruit juice ready drinks. For cranberry juice cocktail, fruit ice pops, grape jelly, sorbet and apple cider vinegar this is a fruit juice proxy only (no cranberry, grape or vinegar was measured).