Overview
The authors bought 36 powdered infant formulas (six brands, three age stages, two production dates) in Kirsehir in 2022 and measured ten elements by high-resolution continuum-source flame AAS after microwave digestion. Lead, chromium and cobalt were below detection in every sample. Cadmium was found only in some formulas for older infants.
Key numbers
- Lead was below the detection limit in all 18 brand and age combinations (Table 3).
- Cadmium (Table 3, mg/kg powder): below detection in all 0-6 month formulas; 0.030 to 0.090 in five formulas for 6-24 months, highest 0.090 ± 0.001.
- Aluminum (Table 3, mg/kg): 6.28 to 12.88.
Methods (brief)
About 0.25 to 0.30 g of powder was digested with nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide in a microwave oven and read on an Analytik Jena ContrAA 300 in three parallel readings. Accuracy was checked by standard addition (recoveries above 90%); no certified reference material is reported. Detection limits are given in µg/L of digest (lead 5, cadmium 0.4).
Evidence Fitness
Flame AAS detection limits work out to roughly 0.2 mg/kg for lead in the powder, so “below detection” here does not show low lead. Two products per brand and age group, one province and one year. The paper never says whether the formulas are based on cow milk, other milks or soy, so they cannot be confirmed as non-soy formula, and the non-soy-infant-formula page is not linked.