Overview
Elbagermi and colleagues measured 13 elements by microwave plasma atomic emission in 11 cow milks sold in Misurata supermarkets, including two long-life skimmed milks. Table 3 gives one mean per product for lead, chromium, zinc, nickel, manganese, copper and iron. Cobalt and cadmium were not detected in any sample.
Key numbers
- Long-life skimmed milks: lead 0.053 and 0.051 ppm; chromium 0.040 and 0.061 ppm; nickel 0.095 and 0.057 ppm (Table 3, U7 and U8).
- Lead across all 11 milks: mean 0.053 ppm, product values 0.024 (raw) to 0.083 ppm (Table 3).
- Cadmium and cobalt: not detected in any sample (Table 3).
Methods (brief)
Three grams of milk were microwave-digested with nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide and read by microwave plasma atomic emission spectrometry. Reagent blanks were run; detection limits, reference materials and recoveries are not reported.
Evidence Fitness
Direct evidence for skim milk (two long-life skimmed products) and whole milk (six long-life full milks), but each product is a single sample and detection limits are not printed. Lead values around 0.05 ppm sit close to what this technique can usually quantify in milk, so they should be read with caution. No semi-skimmed milk or cream was measured, so this is not evidence for half-and-half or semi-skimmed milk.