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A study on toxic and essential elements in rice from the Republic of Kazakhstan: comparing the level of contamination in rice from the European Community

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Abstract

Selected toxic elements (total As, Cd, Cr, Hg, Pb, Sr, U and V) and essential elements (Co, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn) were analyzed using an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) in unpolished and milled rice collected from Kazakhstan and milled rice from Spain and Portugal to evaluate the potential health risk to the population. Arsenic species (arsenite, arsenate, arsenobetaine, dimethylarsinate and monomethilarsonate) were analyzed using HPLC-IC-MS. From 146 samples analyzed, none of them exceeded the maximum limit set by the European Legislation for Cd or Pb or values recommended by the Codex Alimentarius. Concentrations of Sr, U and V were below LOD and those of Hg, Pb, Co and Cr between <LOD and 0.54 mg/kg (highest concentration of Cr) in milled rice. Portuguese rice samples contained the highest mean concentration of As, Hg, Pb, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn and Zn. The highest mean of arsenobetaine (0.001 mg/kg), dimethylarsinate (0.27 mg/kg) and monomethilarsonate (0.02 mg/kg) was found in Spanish rice and that of arsenite (0.30 mg/kg) in Kazakh rice. Inorganic As in samples from Kazakhstan was above the ML (0.2 mg/kg) proposed by FAO/WHO, but in seven samples from Spain and in four from Portugal were above the limit. The estimated weekly intake of total or inorganic As(III, V), Cd, Hg and Pb for rice consumption by Kazakh, Spanish and Portuguese adults and children was lower than the provisional tolerable weekly intake established by Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives and the European Food Safety Authority.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the Erasmus Mundus Programme of the European Union for providing the scholarship grants that were used to perform the present work. The authors also thank Veronica Piñeiro for Technical support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio de Higiene Inspección y Control de Alimentos, Dpto. Química Analítica, Nutrición y Bromatología, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Pabellón 4 planta baja, Campus Universitario s/n, 27002, Lugo, Spain

    D. Tattibayeva, C. Nebot, J. M. Miranda, A. Cepeda & C. M. Franco

  2. Department of “Mechanization and Automation of Manufacturing Processes”, Almaty Technological University, Tole bi street, 100, 050012, Almaty, Kazakhstan

    E. Mateyev & M. Erkebaev

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  1. D. Tattibayeva
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  2. C. Nebot
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  3. J. M. Miranda
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  4. A. Cepeda
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  5. E. Mateyev
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  6. M. Erkebaev
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  7. C. M. Franco
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Correspondence to C. M. Franco.

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Tattibayeva, D., Nebot, C., Miranda, J.M. et al. A study on toxic and essential elements in rice from the Republic of Kazakhstan: comparing the level of contamination in rice from the European Community. Environ Geochem Health 38, 85–98 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-015-9687-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-015-9687-y

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