Plant-based foods using ingredients derived from fruits, nuts, vegetables, grains, and legumes, have gained increased attention for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to nutritional, environmental, sustainability, and ethical issues. While they have many benefits, they also present challenges in formulation, nutrition, and safety. Micronutrients such as iron, zinc, and calcium are not found at the same levels as animal-based foods, for example. Therefore, supplementation and monitoring routines must be in place to ensure proper nutritional benefits. Furthermore, plants can uptake and sequester heavy metals if grown in contaminated soils and, therefore, require periodic testing.
This work presents a method for the reliable analysis of major and trace elements in various plant-based food products using the NexION® 2000 ICP-MS for sample analysis and the MPS 320™ microwave digestion system for sample preparation. The results described herein can readily be used to make formulation decisions, test composite samples for nutritional labelling, as well as keeping heavy metals from entering the food supply.