Determination of metal ion content of beverages and estimation of target hazard quotients: a comparative study

The levels (mean ± SEM) and diversity of metals determined by ICP-MS were highest for red wine samples (30 metals totalling 5620.54 ± 123.86 ppb) followed by apple juice (15 metals totalling 1339.87 ± 10.84 ppb) and stout (14 metals totalling 464.85 ± 46.74 ppb). The combined THQ values were determined based upon levels of V, Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn and Pb which gave red wine samples the highest value (5100.96 ± 118.93 ppb) followed by apple juice (666.44 ± 7.67 ppb) and stout (328.41 ± 42.36 ppb). The THQ values were as follows: apple juice (male 3.11, female 3.87), stout (male 1.84, female 2.19), red wine (male 126.52, female 157.22) and ultra-filtered red wine (male 110.48, female 137.29).This study reports relatively high levels of metal ions in red wine, which give a very high THQ value suggesting potential hazardous exposure over a lifetime for those who consume at least 250 mL daily. In addition to the known hazardous metals (e.g. Pb), many metals (e.g. Rb) have not had their biological effects systematically investigated and hence the impact of sustained ingestion is not known.The widespread roles of metal ions in health and disease range from the requirement for intake of essential trace elements to toxicity associated with metal overload. Numerous studies have quantified levels of toxic metal ions in common foodstuffs and in some cases these results have been extended by statistical analyses to generate 'target hazard quotients' (THQ) for a limited number of foodstuffs relating to individual and combinations of metals [1-5]. Despite regulatory controls, numerous sources of metal ingestion have been recently reported including contaminated drinking water, seafood, breast milk, herbal medicines, smoking, together with plants and animals used in the diet [1-10]. Between January and November 2007, some 2,680 food recalls were monitored by the Laboratory of the Government Chemist (UK) mainly owing to contamination [11]. Of these, 8% (216) were for metal contaminatio