Overview
Korać and colleagues analyzed 14 raw and processed cow, sheep and goat milks from Sarajevo in summer 2020 for nine metals by flame atomic absorption. Lead, cadmium, iron, manganese and nickel were below detection in every sample; calcium, magnesium, zinc and copper are reported per sample. The set includes a 0.9% fat sterilized cow milk and a 1.5% fat lactose-free cow milk.
Key numbers
- Lead and cadmium below the detection limit in all 14 samples, including the 0.9% and 1.5% fat cow milks (Abstract; Results p. 3).
- Zinc, 0.9% fat sterilized cow milk: below detection; 3.8% fat pasteurized cow milk: 13.00 ± 2.09 mg/L (Table 1).
- Copper in raw cow milk: 3.20 ± 0.9 and 0.51 ± 0.00 mg/L (Table 1).
Methods (brief)
One milliliter of milk was ashed at 550 °C, dissolved in hydrochloric acid and read by flame atomic absorption (Varian AA240FS). Spike recoveries were 84 to 109%. Detection limits were 1.091 µg/mL for lead and 0.021 µg/mL for cadmium.
Evidence Fitness
Direct retail data for reduced-fat cow milk (0.9% and 1.5% fat), but only one sample of each, and the lead detection limit of about 1,091 µg/L is roughly fifty times the EU milk limit. The lead and cadmium non-detects therefore cannot show whether reduced-fat milk meets limits. No reference material was used.