Determination of arsenic in seafood by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry after microwave digestion: NMKL1 collaborative study

Summary

Eight laboratories participated in an interlaboratory method performance (collaborative) study of a method for the determination of arsenic in foodstuffs of marine origin by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry after wet digestion using a microwave oven technique. The study was preceded by a practice round of familiarization samples. The method was tested on 8 materials (cod roe, krill, blue mussel, saithe, scampi, cod fillet, shrimp, and cod extract) ranging in As content from 2 to 75 mg/kg. The materials were sent to participants in the study as blind duplicates, and the participants were asked to perform single determinations on each sample. Repeatability relative standard deviations (RSDr) for As ranged from 6.8 to 17.4%. Reproducibility relative standard deviations (RSDR) ranged from 7.6 to 24%. The highest RSDR value was found for the sample with the highest concentration of As.