Exposure to nickel through commercial premade baby foods: Is there any risk?

Abstract

A study was performed to evaluate the risk regarding the presence of nickel in commercial premade baby foods: 26 ready meals, 31 fruits, 8 deserts and 20 paps. The analytical methodology used for the determination of nickel was dry ashing followed by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. Method detection limit (12.5 μg kg−1) was obtained through a matrix matched calibration curve, using a nickel free commercial ready meal (meat).The results showed that 78 (91.8 %) samples contained nickel, with values up to 225.7 μg kg−1. The group with the highest average concentration was the fruits (50.1 μg kg−1) followed by the ready meals (40.2 μg kg−1). Samples from organic farming presented higher detection frequency and average concentration (54.7 μg kg−1) than the others. Using the average results, the tolerable daily intake proposed by EFSA (2.8 μg kg−1 b.w.) was surpassed for the 2 year old age group, with daily ingestions up to 3.1 μg kg−1 b.w.. This results highlight the risk promoted by the nickel present in commercial premade baby food.