The Detection of Arsenic and Lead within Commonly Bought Dog Foods Using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectroscopy
Start Date
April 2024
Location
2nd floor - Library
Abstract
Arsenic and Lead are some of the most toxic heavy metals that dogs could consume and be exposed to. Arsenic and lead toxicity could lead to many health concerns within dogs that mainly affect the GI tract and nervous system. Most commonly, vomiting, anorexia, muscle spasms, blindness, and hysterical barking occur. While there are cures and remedies to survive these metal toxicities, too much exposure could lead to organ failure, and eventually death. Exposure limits of these metals are set by the FDA, with lead having a maximum limit of 10,000 ppb and arsenic having a maximum limit of 12,500 ppb within dog foods. This research focuses on utilizing atomic emission spectroscopy to quantify concentrations of these heavy metals within three different dog foods: Kibbles N’ Bits, Pedigree, and Purina One +Plus. By utilizing the ICP-OES, concentrations of arsenic within the samples were lower than the instrument's detection limits. This indicates that the concentration of arsenic within the samples could almost be considered negligible. While lead was found to be slightly more concentrated than arsenic, concentration limits still fell lower than the maximum tolerant values of arsenic and lead within these dog food samples.
The Detection of Arsenic and Lead within Commonly Bought Dog Foods Using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectroscopy
2nd floor - Library
Arsenic and Lead are some of the most toxic heavy metals that dogs could consume and be exposed to. Arsenic and lead toxicity could lead to many health concerns within dogs that mainly affect the GI tract and nervous system. Most commonly, vomiting, anorexia, muscle spasms, blindness, and hysterical barking occur. While there are cures and remedies to survive these metal toxicities, too much exposure could lead to organ failure, and eventually death. Exposure limits of these metals are set by the FDA, with lead having a maximum limit of 10,000 ppb and arsenic having a maximum limit of 12,500 ppb within dog foods. This research focuses on utilizing atomic emission spectroscopy to quantify concentrations of these heavy metals within three different dog foods: Kibbles N’ Bits, Pedigree, and Purina One +Plus. By utilizing the ICP-OES, concentrations of arsenic within the samples were lower than the instrument's detection limits. This indicates that the concentration of arsenic within the samples could almost be considered negligible. While lead was found to be slightly more concentrated than arsenic, concentration limits still fell lower than the maximum tolerant values of arsenic and lead within these dog food samples.
