Overview
Hidalgo et al. measured total arsenic, cadmium, and lead in 72 commercial gluten-free cereal bars marketed in Argentina. The products were grouped by flavor/formulation rather than named brands, preserving a usable product-form signal without propagating consumer-brand identities.
Key numbers
| Product group | n | tAs mean +/- SD (ug/kg) | Cd mean +/- SD (ug/kg) | Pb mean +/- SD (ug/kg) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple | 9 | 27.8 +/- 1.3 | 0.4 +/- 0.1 | 9.5 +/- 0.7 |
| Blueberry | 12 | 12.3 +/- 1.1 | <0.3 | 33.2 +/- 2.2 |
| Chocolate | 6 | 17.4 +/- 0.9 | 16.8 +/- 0.1 | 15.8 +/- 4.2 |
| Coconut | 6 | 10.5 +/- 1.2 | 4.3 +/- 0.1 | 13.7 +/- 1.1 |
| Honey | 6 | 6.5 +/- 1.5 | <0.3 | 145.3 +/- 10.8 |
| Peach | 12 | 14.6 +/- 2.1 | <0.3 | 12.4 +/- 0.5 |
| Peanut | 9 | 7.8 +/- 0.8 | 1.7 +/- 0.2 | 29.9 +/- 3.6 |
| Strawberry | 6 | 12.2 +/- 1.1 | <0.3 | 10.5 +/- 1.1 |
| Vanilla | 6 | 10.5 +/- 1.2 | <0.3 | 58.7 +/- 3.6 |
Daily-intake screening, assuming two cereal bars per day, identified the honey group as the highest lead contributor at 15.8% of the source-selected guidance value. Apple bars had the highest total-arsenic mean, chocolate bars had the highest cadmium mean, and honey bars had the highest lead mean.
Methods (brief)
Samples were homogenized, microwave-digested in HNO3/H2O2, and analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry on an Agilent 7700x (Babington nebulizer, Peltier-cooled spray chamber, He collision cell at 3.9 mL/min) monitoring 75As, 111,114Cd, and 206,208Pb against a 115In internal standard. Reported method detection limits were 2.5 ug/kg for arsenic, 0.3 ug/kg for cadmium, and 1.6 ug/kg for lead. Spiked-sample recoveries were 97.6%, 99.4%, and 99.2% for arsenic, cadmium, and lead respectively.
Implications
This is direct occurrence evidence for cereal bars and snack bars, especially gluten-free and rice-based formulations marketed to adult and celiac consumers. It supports product-form routing for snack bars and cereal products and ingredient context for rice/cereal formulations. The sampled products were general commercial gluten-free cereal bars, not infant teething snacks, so it does not describe infant teething snacks.
Related evidence
Update history
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