Overview
A government food-testing laboratory measured lead and copper by flame AAS in 59 rolled-oats samples from markets in four Indian cities and printed every sample’s value. Lead was not detected in 8 samples and ranged from 0.005 to 0.120 ppm in the other 51, all below the Indian limit of 2 ppm. This record uses the lead data only.
Key numbers
- Lead, highest: Amritsar samples 1 and 2 “0.120” and “0.103” ppm; Nagpur sample 39 “0.119” ppm (Table 2, p. 263).
- Lead “ND” in samples 9, 10, 13, 19, 20, 23, 37 and 38 (Table 2).
Methods (brief)
Ground samples (0.1 g) were microwave-digested with nitric and hydrochloric acids, made up to 100 mL and read by flame AAS at 217 nm following AOAC 999.10. Blanks and spiked samples were prepared, but recoveries, detection limits and reference materials are not reported.
Evidence Fitness
A large per-sample set, but the lowest calibration standard (0.5 ppm in solution) is far above what these sample levels would give after a 1000-fold dilution, so the low lead values are not credible as measured and are flagged. The methods text also refers to “white pepper”, copied from another method. There is no DOI and peer review is unverified. Plain rolled oats are a cereal-grain proxy for bran-cereal-with-raisins (no such cereal was measured), so that page is not linked.