Estimation of heavy metals at trace level in refined sugar using inductively-coupledplasma-mass spectrometry

Introduction

White refined sugar is crystallized sucrose of a high purity that is industrially produced from sugar beet or sugar cane. It commonly used for baking, cooking, sweetening domestic products and beverages or in preparation of processed food etc. It may contain some soluble and /or insoluble organic and inorganic impurities that affect its quality and market value. Inorganic impurities may come from plat cultivation place, raw material, chemicals, manufacturing- refining process etc. Presence of trace level elements like Arsenic (As), Cadmium (Cd), Chromium (Cr), Copper (Cu), Mercury (Hg), Lead (Pb) and Tin (Sn) in sugar cause adverse effects on human health. Thus, regulatory bodies like Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) & Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recommended safety limits (Table 1) for trace metal contaminants in sugar. At concentrations of sub parts per-billion level in solution, Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) is a vital tool for providing sensitive, selective, accurate, fast, reliable tool to determine metals in sugar at trace level.

January 10, 2020 GMT