Total content of As, Sb, Se, Te and Bi in Spanish vegetables, cereals and pulses and estimation of the contribution of these foods to the Mediterranean daily intake of trace elements

As, Sb, Se, Te and Bi were quantified in vegetables, pulses and cereals, in order to increase the available information on the presence of these elements in the Mediterranean daily intake. Samples were dry ashed and the ashes dissolved with diluted HCl. Hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry was used for quantification. Limits of detection (LOD) ranged from 0.2 to 1.7 ng g−1 and the accuracy was assessed by the analysis of three certified reference materials, Rice Flour (NIST 1568a), Tomato Leaves (NIST 1573) and Cabbage (IAEA 359). Good concordance between results found and certified values were always observed. As, Sb, Se, Te and Bi levels varied in samples analysed from values under the LOD till 1001, 47, 270, 104 and 48 ng g−1, respectively.