Determination of Total Mercury in Foods of Plant Origin in Poland by Cold Vapour Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

Total mercury concentrations were determined in 573 samples of agricultural crops and foods of plant origin which included cereals, fruit and vegetables and their products commercially available on the Polish market. The method of cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometry (CVAAS) after a wet-acid digestion in a closed-vessels and microwave oven was used and the reliability of the procedure demonstrated. Mercury concentrations in the agricultural crops and plant foods were generally below the maximum permissible limits in Poland and rarely exceeded 5 microg x kg(-1). Values ranged from <0.1 to 14 microg x kg(-1), mean 2.4 +/- 2.3 microg x kg(-1) in wheat and rye grains; from <0.1 to 2.4 microg x kg(-1), mean 0.5 +/- 0.4 microg x kg(-1) in nine varieties of vegetables; from <0.1 to 5.1 microg x kg(-1), mean 1.1 +/- 0.9 microg x kg(-1) in seven varieties of fruit; from <0.1 to 5.6 microg x kg(-1) in cereal products and jams; and from <0.1 to 3.0 microg x l(-1) in fruit and vegetable juices, nectars and beverages. The contribution of the mercury in the analysed agricultural crops and foods of plant origin to the weekly dietary intake of total mercury was 8 microg/person, which represents only 3% of the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) for this metal.