Ricerc@Sapienza

Together with essential elements, toxic elements can also be found in food. In this study, we analysed the content
of 41 elements in milk from mammals (cow, goat, and donkey) and plant-based milk alternatives (from soy, rice,
oat, spelt, almond, coconut, hazelnut, walnut, cashew, hemp, and quinoa) using inductively coupled plasma
mass spectrometry and cold vapour generation atomic fluorescence (for Hg). The analytical methods were validated
using both milk certified reference materials and recovery experiments for different milk samples, obtaining
satisfactory results in all cases. Only cow and goat milks were important sources of all major mineral
elements like Ca, K, Mg, Na and P, and some minor elements like Se and Zn, while soy milk contained significant
amounts of Cu and Fe, coconut milk contained Cr and Se, and hemp milk contained Mo. The level of toxic trace
elements, including As, Cd, Hg, and Pb was very low in all analysed samples and did not pose any threat to
consumers. The study is of significance for consumers of plant-based beverages from nutritional and food safety
point of view.