Overview
Bora and colleagues measured copper, zinc, nickel, chromium, cobalt, lead, cadmium and arsenic by ICP-MS in 42 commercial fruit juices from the Romanian market, grouped by fruit and by box or plastic bottle packaging. Results are means of three samples per group in µg/L. Apple juice had the highest lead.
Key numbers
- Apple juice lead: 10.71 ± 1.35 µg/L (box) and 11.06 ± 1.92 µg/L (plastic) (Table 1, p. 127).
- Cadmium was quantified only in apple, peach and mango juice, at most 0.36 ± 0.01 µg/L (peach, plastic) (Table 1, p. 127).
- Arsenic was quantified only in apple (plastic, 0.16 ± 0.06 µg/L) and multifruit juice (0.19 and 0.17 µg/L) (Table 1, p. 127).
- Pear juice lead, cadmium and arsenic were all below LOQ (Table 1, p. 127).
Methods (brief)
Half a millilitre of juice was microwave-digested with nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide, diluted to 50 mL and analysed on a Thermo iCAP Q ICP-MS with external calibration. LOQ values, CRMs and recoveries are not reported.
Evidence Fitness
Small groups (n=3) with no QA beyond replicates and per-litre units only. The juices are a proxy for sports-drink-bases, which is not measured or linked; they are direct for the named fruit juice pages.