Trace and Major Element Concentration in Cottage Cheese from Latvia

Cottage cheese, a dairy product derived from cow milk by fermentation, traditionally is known as a component of healthy human diet and is widely consumed mostly in Northern Europe and Russia. The aim of the study was to investigate content of trace and major elements in cottage cheese and to discover a merit of cottage cheese in daily nutrition as well as to reveal possible ways of product contamination with potentially toxic elements. Twenty seven cottage cheese samples were obtained from individual dairy farms and supermarkets of Latvia. Samples were acid digested and analysed by atomic absorption spectrometry methods. Results revealed concentration rates for eleven trace and major elements (Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb, Zn). Seasonal fluctuations of element content in cottage cheese were found. Average content of some potentially toxic elements (Pb, Ni) was estimated as inappropriate high for cottage cheese samples derived in summer season. Amount of essential major elements in cottage cheese with different origin was not significantly variable, except for calcium which was detected in lower concentration in cottage cheese obtained in supermarkets, while range of potentially toxic elements was higher in cottage cheese samples derived from individual dairy farms. Key-Words: Cottage cheese, trace elements, major elements, food analysis, environmental contamination.

[1]  F. Petrucci,et al.  Method validation for determination of arsenic, cadmium, chromium and lead in milk by means of dynamic reaction cell inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. , 2008, Analytica chimica acta.

[2]  K. Cashman.  Milk minerals (including trace elements) and bone health , 2006 .

[3]  H. Macdonald.  Dairy nutrition: What we knew then to what we know now , 2008 .

[4]  A. Lante,et al.  Content and characterisation of minerals in milk and in Crescenza and Squacquerone Italian fresh cheeses by ICP-OES , 2006 .

[5]  J. Steijns.  Dairy products and health: Focus on their constituents or on the matrix? , 2008 .

[6]  A. Ayar,et al.  The trace metal levels in milk and dairy products consumed in middle Anatolia—Turkey , 2009, Environmental monitoring and assessment.

[7]  O. Ataman,et al.  Trace Element Analysis of Food and Diet , 2006 .

[8]  J. A. Baig,et al.  Assessment of toxic metals in raw and processed milk samples using electrothermal atomic absorption spectrophotometer. , 2009, Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association.

[9]  J. Nriagu,et al.  Mineral components in foods , 2006 .

[10]  J. Porter.  Milk as a source of lactose, vitamins and minerals , 1978, Proceedings of the Nutrition Society.

[11]  R. McCrindle,et al.  Quantification of trace elements in raw cow's milk by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) , 2008 .

[12]  C. Fraga,et al.  Relevance, essentiality and toxicity of trace elements in human health. , 2005, Molecular aspects of medicine.