Concentrations of Essential Trace and Toxic Elements Associated with Production and Manufacturing Processes in Galician Cheese
Emanuel Felipe de Oliveira Filho,
Marta Miranda,
Tania Ferreiro,
Carlos Herrero-Latorre,
Pierre Castro Soares,
Marta López-Alonso
Affiliations
Emanuel Felipe de Oliveira Filho
Department of Veterinary Medicine/UFRPE, Rua Dom Manoel de Medeiros, Dois Irmãos, Recife 52171-900, Brazil
Marta Miranda
Department of Anatomy, Animal Production and Clinical Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary, University of Santiago de Compostela, Campus Terra, 27002 Lugo, Spain
Tania Ferreiro
Technological Platform: Aula de Productos Lácteos y Tecnologías Alimentarias, University of Santiago de Compostela, Campus Terra, 27002 Lugo, Spain
Carlos Herrero-Latorre
Research Institute on Chemical and Biological Analysis, Analytical Chemistry, Nutrition and Bromatology Department, Faculty of Sciences, University of Santiago de Compostela, Campus Terra, 27002 Lugo, Spain
Pierre Castro Soares
Department of Veterinary Medicine/UFRPE, Rua Dom Manoel de Medeiros, Dois Irmãos, Recife 52171-900, Brazil
Marta López-Alonso
Department of Animal Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary, University of Santiago de Compostela, Campus Terra, 27002 Lugo, Spain
The objective of this study was to determine the trace element composition and the toxic metal residues in Galician cow’s milk cheese produced in different systems (artisan, industrial, and organic). Fourteen elements (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, I, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Se, and Zn) were determined in 58 representative samples of Galician cheeses by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The toxic elements were present at low concentrations, similar to those reported for other unpolluted geographical areas. The essential elements were also within the normal range in cheeses. There were no statistically significant differences between smoked and unsmoked cheeses for any of the elements. Chemometric analyses (principal component analysis and cluster analysis) revealed that the industrial cheeses produced in Galicia using the milk from intensive dairy farms were different, in terms of elemental content, from artisan and organic cheeses, in which the elemental contents were similar.
