In addition to the determination of the total arsenic content, the separation and analysis of the occurring species is now established in the quality control of food. While beverages such as apple or orange juice, wine, etc. can be analyzed directly after dilution, foods such as fish or rice require more complex sample preparation. Here it must be ensured that the arsenic species are not oxidized or converted into each other.

The study describes and compares different possibilities of sample preparation and analysis with the aim of obtaining a simple and practicable way for the industry from raw material to a samples ready for analysis. With the help of the SpeedMill Plus and an additional lysis, the samples are decomposed to a solution. Microwave extraction of arsenic species is an alternative way of preparing e.g. rice or chocolate for identification of arsenic species. Here the temperature and oxidizing conditions are critical to maintain the species composition. The study furthermore presents the optimization of the HPLC-ICP-MS method to ensure short run times but obtain a clear separation of all Arsenic species of interest.

The subsequent analysis using HPLC-ICP-MS (PQLC and PlasmaQuant® MS) characterizes the samples and allows an evaluation of the entire workflow according to criteria such as digestion quality, species recovery, but also handling, throughput and applicability in routine operation. First results show that the easy handling of the SpeedMill Plus offers a simplified preparation process without compromising the results.