Overview
Su and colleagues measured five essential minerals by ICP-MS in 150 dairy products bought in Henan Province in 2023 and 2024, and compared domestic with imported sterilized milk. No toxic metals were analyzed. Fermented milk had lower zinc and copper than the other types.
Key numbers
- All 150 products: iron 240.78 ± 102.57 ug/kg, zinc 2.45 ± 0.61 mg/kg, selenium 30.38 ± 12.79 ug/kg, copper 28.98 ± 15.18 ug/kg (Table 1, p. 4).
- Fermented milk (n = 38): zinc 1.91 ± 0.48 mg/kg, copper 20.44 ± 9.35 ug/kg (Table 1).
- Domestic vs imported sterilized milk: no significant difference in iron, zinc, selenium or copper (Table 2, p. 5).
Methods (brief)
One gram of product was microwave-digested and analyzed on an Agilent 7700 ICP-MS. A milk powder reference material gave recoveries of 97 to 102%. Detection limits are not printed.
Evidence Fitness
A sizeable market survey with good recovery data, but it measured only essential minerals (no lead, cadmium, arsenic or mercury). The products are liquid and fermented milks, not cheese: it is a proxy for mozzarella, which is not linked, and offers no toxic-metal evidence for that page.