Determine the levels of Arsenic in Apple JuiceBrianna Shildt & Kirsten Berube

Arsenic A poisonous metal Its found naturally

in soil and minerals Arsenic compounds

are used as pesticides.

There is organic and inorganic • Inorganic is toxic• Organic is not toxic

Exposure can cause health problems • High levels cause

death• Low levels for long

time Discolor of the skin

Known to cause cancer and potential IQ problems.

Arsenic There is no color and

its almost tasteless Everyone is exposed

to very small levels each day• 8 micrograms

People are exposed to arsenic by• Breathing• Drinking or Eating

Greater than 100 ppm is deadly

Toxic dose• In adult is 42 mg

(0.042g)• In a 20lb child it is 6

mg (0.06g)

Introduction Studies have

proved to have high levels of arsenic in apple juices

There is no federal limit for arsenic or lead in juices

Experiment 5 brands of juice

• Gerber Organic • Gerber• Great Value• Apple & Eve• Mott’s Original

Juiced a complete Apple• Food processor• Drained• Filtered

X-ray Fluorescence (XRF)

Standard arsenic samples of 100ppm and 0.5ppm

Analysis of apple juice in the XRF to determine if arsenic is present.

Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) Standards made from a

100ppm solution of arsenic in water• 5 ppm• 4 ppm• 3 ppm• 2 ppm • 1 ppm• 0.5 ppm• 0.4 ppm• 0.3 ppm• 0.2 ppm• 0.1 ppm• 0.05 ppm

Dilute 50% Distilled water 50% juiced samples

Apple juice samples spiked with 1 ml of 1000ppm arsenic were ran through the ICP

Then Analysis of apple juice was done in the ICP to determine concentration of arsenic

Data

0 1 2 3 4 5 60

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

f(x) = 217.898024513609 x − 12.606029589478R² = 0.970274849192125

ICP Calibration

Concentration (ppm)

Inte

nsit

y

DataICP Apple Juice Intensities

Sample IntensitySpiked Great Value 276.59

Spiked Apple and Eve

262.57

Spiked Motts 214.90

Spiked Gerber Organic

207.47

Spiked Gerber 222.56

Spiked Juiced Apple 280.95

Great Value 12.908

Apple and Eve 13.502

Motts 13.111

Gerber Organic 12.963

Juiced Apple 12.580

Gerber was not tested

Spiked samples have much higher intensities than unspiked samples

XRF Results No detection of

arsenic 0.5 ppm, 100 ppm,

and all apple juice brands tested

Elements in Samples

Sample Element

Great Value Rh, Ar

Apple and Eve Rh, K, Cu, Ar

Motts Rh, Cd, Cu, Ar

Gerber Rh, Ar

Gerber Organic Rh, K, Ar

Juiced Apple Rh, Ag, Ar

0.5 ppm Rh, Ag, Ar, Ca

100 ppm Rh, K, Ar

ICP ResultsArsenic Concentrations

Sample Diluted Concentration (ppm)

Undiluted Concentration (ppm)

Spiked Great Value

1.327 2.654

Spiked Apple and Eve

1.263 2.526

Spiked Motts 1.044 2.088

Spiked Gerber Organic

1.010 2.020

Spiked Gerber 1.079 2.158

Spiked Juiced Apple

1.347 2.694

Great Value 0.117 0.234

Apple and Eve 0.120 0.24

Motts 0.118 0.236

Gerber Organic 0.117 0.234

Juiced Apple 0.116 0.232

Undiluted concentration found from calculated concentration of diluted samples by M1V1=M2V2

Ex: Spiked Great Value-M1(5 ml)=(1.327ppm)(10 ml)M1=2.654 ppm

ICP ResultsSpike Recovery

Sample Recovery (%)

Great Value 121

Apple and Eve 114.3

Motts 92.6

Gerber Organic 89.3

Juiced Apple 123.1

Looking at interference and matrix affects % recovery =

(conc. of spiked sample - conc. of unspiked sample)(100)/(spike added) Ex:

(1.327 mg/L – 0.117 mg/L)(100)/(1000mg/L x 0.001 L) = 121%

Discussion Traces of arsenic

found in all samples Apple juice brands

have very similar arsenic concentrations

Apple juice is not harmful unless excessive amounts are consumed

Further testing on IC, ICP-MS, and AA

Testing with more accurate instrumentation

Work Cited http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/

arsenic.html http://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/eh/

chemfs/fs/arsenic.htm http://www.origen.net/arsenic.html