Metals - analysis
The Swedish Food Agency performs analyses of heavy metals to check limit values in accordance with European Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1881/2006 setting maximum levels for certain contaminants in foodstuffs. The Swedish Food Agency also manages projects to map various metals in foods, especially cadmium and inorganic arsenic.
Lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic are all in the top ten on the World Health Organization (WHO) list of chemicals of major public health concern, making it important to check their levels in foods. These levels then provide one of several parameters for assessing the level of risk the substances pose to human health.
Our organisation also analyses beneficial elements for the food database; for example, manganese, iron and zinc. The results of these analyses are also used as a basis for risk and benefit assessments.
Accredited methods
Listed below are the accredited methods we use.
Please contact us if you would like further information and/or prices for the analyses we offer.
Krisitina Granelli
Head of Chemistry Department
Email: firstname.sirname@slv.se
| Metals | Limit of quantification dry samples (mg/kg) |
Limit of quantification wet samples (mg/kg) |
Analysis technique |
|
Aluminum (Al) |
1.2 |
0.24 |
ICP-MS |
| Vanadium (V) | 0.27 | 0.053 | ICP-MS |
| Chromium (Cr) | 0.069 | 0.014 | ICP-MS |
| Manganese (Mn) | 0.061 | 0.012 | ICP-MS |
| Iron (Fe) | 0.87 | 0.17 | ICP-MS |
| Cobalt (Co) | 0.006 | 0.001 | ICP-MS |
| Nickel (Ni) | 0.13 | 0.025 | ICP-MS |
| Copper (Cu) | 0.112 | 0.022 | ICP-MS |
| Zinc (Zn) | 1.0 | 0.21 | ICP-MS |
| Arsenic (As) | 0.037 | 0.008 | ICP-MS |
| Molybdenum (Mo) | 0.012 | 0.002 | ICP-MS |
| Silver (Ag) | 0.014 | 0.003 | ICP-MS |
| Cadmium (Cd) | 0.006 | 0.001 | ICP-MS |
| Tin (Sn) | 0.076 | 0.015 | ICP-MS |
| Mercury (Hg) | 0.036 | 0.0073 | ICP-MS |
| Lead (Pb) | 0.0064 | 0.0013 | ICP-MS |
|
Unorganic arsenic |
0.007 |
0.003 |
IC-ICP-MS |
