Aluminum contamination of food during culinary preparation: Case study with aluminum foil and consumers’ preferences

• Published in: Food Science & Nutrition
• Main Authors: Dani Dordevic, Hana Buchtova, Simona Jancikova, Blanka Macharackova, Monika Jarosova, Tomas Vitez, Ivan Kushkevych
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2019
• Subjects: aluminum foil; baking; consumers’ preferences; leakage; marinating; Nutrition. Foods and food supply; TX341-641; Atlantic salmon; Salmo salar
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1002/fsn3.1204; https://doaj.org/article/c1cda39468364209b8a9f9e992be008d

Abstract The aim of the work was to estimate the degree of aluminum leakage from aluminum foil during baking process of selected food/meals. The experiment included 11 different types of food (Atlantic salmon Salmo salar, mackerel Scomber scombrus, duck breasts, cheese Hermelín, tomato, paprika, Carlsbad dumplings, pork roast, pork neck, chicken breasts, and chicken thighs) baked both marinated and not marinated. The aluminum content was measured by AAS and ICP/MS methods. The highest aluminum increase was observed in the samples of marinated Salmo salar (41.86 ± 0.56 mg/kg), Scomber scombrus (49.34 ± 0.44 mg/kg), and duck breast (117.26 ± 1.37 g/kg). The research was also supported by the survey that consisted of 784 respondents with different sociodemographic characteristics. The study clearly showed the occurrence of aluminum contamination of food when it is prepared by baking in aluminum foil. It cannot be concluded that aluminum leakage will occur with each type of food. The aluminum contents found among investigated samples are not alarming, though the increase was measured up to 40 times. On the other hand, revealed aluminum contents can represent a risk for younger/smaller children and for individuals with diagnosed certain ailments.