Simultaneous Determination of Arsenic, Cadmium, Mercury, and Lead in Raw Ingredients, Nutritional Products, and Infant Formula by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry: Single-Laboratory Validation

Overview

This Journal of AOAC International method-validation paper by Lawrence Pacquette and Anumolu Anumula (Abbott Nutrition Global Research Services, Columbus OH and Bangalore) reports a single-laboratory validation of an ICP-MS method for the simultaneous determination of As, Cd, Hg, and Pb in raw ingredients (acid casein, maltodextrin, skim milk powder), nutritional products, and infant formula. Validation used three NIST standard reference materials (1548a Typical Diet, 1577c Bovine Liver, 1568b Rice Flour) and demonstrated method performance suitable for compliance and surveillance applications. The paper is the canonical Abbott-Nutrition-authored ICP-MS validation reference for infant formula heavy-metal analysis and supports the analytical-method basis behind the Abbott-marketed formula occurrence work cited in Dabeka 2011 and the broader formula-industry analytical practice.

Key conclusions

The validated ICP-MS method demonstrates acceptable accuracy, precision, recovery, and limits of detection for the four target analytes across the matrix range covering raw ingredients through finished infant formula. Method performance against NIST SRMs is consistent with FDA EAM Method 4.7 family expectations. The validation paper does not itself report new finished-product occurrence data; it documents the analytical platform that subsequent occurrence surveys depend on.

Implications

• Certification: Method-validation reference supporting the analytical chain underlying infant-formula heavy-metal occurrence work. Useful as a methods citation for HMTc certification analytical-method discussion.
• Courses: Standard reference for infant-formula ICP-MS method validation.

Wiki pages updated on ingest

• ICP-MS — Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry
• Infant Formula, Powder (Non-Soy)
• Infant Formula, Powder (Soy-Based)

Update history

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