Development of a slurry atomization method for the determination of cadmium in food samples by electrothermal atomization atomic-absorption spectrometry

Matrix modifiers have been compared for the determination of cadmium in foodstuffs by ETA-AAS with the sample injected in the form of a slurry. Addition of 800 mug/ml Pd stabilized cadmium to a similar extent as did ammonium dihydrogen phosphate, but avoided the increase in background signal associated with the latter. An analytical procedure was developed, based on palladium matrix modification, platform atomization with a pre-atomization cooling step and integrated absorbance measurements. The method allowed the analysis of milk, liver and olive leaf slurries at concentrations up to at least 50 mg/ml by direct calibration with aqueous standards. The accuracy of the analytical results was within 15% and the detection limit for cadmium in analysis of a 50 mg/ml slurry was 10 ng/g.