Determination of several elements in duplicate meals from catering establishments using closed vessel microwave digestion with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry detection: estimation of daily dietary intake.

An estimation of the dietary exposure of French consumers to 21 essential and non-essential mineral elements using duplicate meals (breakfast and lunch) purchased from catering establishments was investigated after digestion by a closed vessel microwave procedure and quantification by ICP-MS. Daily dietary exposure estimates for metals and minerals were compared with the Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intakes (PTWI), the Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) or the Acceptable Daily Intakes (ADI), as established by the FAO/WHO to estimate the risk of toxicity, and the US Recommended Daily Allowances (US RDA) or the Estimate Safe & Adequate Daily Dietary Intakes (ESADDI). Moreover, comparisons were made with those from previous French studies as well as those from other countries. The estimated mean daily intakes were 11 microgram for lithium, 3.42 g for sodium, 192 mg for magnesium, 2.03 mg for aluminium, 3.64 g for potassium, 642 mg for calcium, 154 microgram for chromium, 12.3 mg for iron, 2.15 mg for manganese, 4 microgram for cobalt, 74 microgram for nickel, 925 microgram for copper, 10.2 mg for zinc, 147 microgram for arsenic, 66 microgram for selenium, 112 microgram for molybdenum, 3.6 microgram for cadmium, 2.32 mg for tin, 3 microgram for antimony, 9 microgram for mercury and 34 microgram for lead. For the non-essential (toxic) elements, aluminium, tin, antimony, cadmium, arsenic, mercury and lead, the daily intake estimates were far below tolerable limits; and similar or somewhat lower than their respective PTWI, ADI, TDI, ESADDI and US RDA for individual minerals and essential trace elements, with good agreement with other country studies. The performance of the multi-elemental ICP-MS technique was also evaluated.