ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to estimate the lead intake from crystalware resulting from short-term contacts with beverages, under conditions that are likely to occur to a consumer. The extraction ability of different kinds of beverages was estimated by comparison with 4% acetic acid under conditions of continuous contact for 3 h. It was found that lead release increased in the following order: cola drink > HAc > whisky > white wine. Under conditions of repeated use under different scenarios, lead release showed a steep decrease with increasing number of contacts, for both wine and cola drink. The maximum lead intake resulted from the cola drink, corresponding to an ingestion of 14.5 micrograms Pb for consumption of 350 ml beverage. Assuming a fixed contribution from the diet of 71 micrograms/day, in the six scenarios taken into consideration, total daily lead intake levels ranged from a minimum of about 76 micrograms up to a maximum of 86 micrograms lead. As these values, converted on a weekly basis, would correspond to 35% and 40% PTWI respectively, significant health risks resulting from the ingestion of beverages in contact with crystalware can be excluded. Finally it was found that the use of a dishwater did not affect significantly the release of lead into wine, while release into cola drink was slightly but significantly increased after the third cycle.
Subject(s)
Beverages/analysis , Glass/chemistry , Lead/analysis , Alcoholic Beverages/analysis , Drinking , Humans , Reproducibility of Results , Risk AssessmentABSTRACT
It is well known that titanium is one of the most rugged metals; therefore it has been extensively used in many critical fields. However, the lowering of price and an increased availability of titanium has made this material suitable to be used in other industrial fields, such as the food industry. The present paper reports the results of an assessment that concludes that titanium could be regarded as a candidate food-grade material.
