Elemental composition of ginger (Zingiber officinale L.) – Analytical approach and assessment of 29 analytes according to classification approaches

• Elemental pattern in ginger spice depending on geographical origin. • No influence of packaging material on potentially toxic elements in ginger. • Food processing shows impact on metals and metalloids in ginger. Ginger ( Zingiber officinale L.) is a widely used spice which beyond nutritional properties exhibit therapeutic properties. It is sold fresh or dried. In order to characterize this food more in detail, the content of 29 elements in ginger was determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The either fresh or dry powdered products, were bought in (super)markets in Zagreb (Croatia) and Örebro (Sweden) in either loose form or packaged in plastic or glass. For analysis, all samples were dried and homogenised prior to digestion using nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide. The content of metals and metalloids, grouped according to their orbitals (“block”) and definitions as “toxic”, bioavailability, and Geochem, was assessed. Most abundant element found in all samples was K (2940 mg/kg–50500 mg/kg), followed by Mg (1080 mg/kg–3680 mg/kg), Ca (786 mg/kg–2240 mg/kg), Mn (18.6 mg/kg–789 mg/kg), Na (52 mg/kg–987 mg/kg), Al (6.09 mg/kg–1070 mg/kg), and Fe (32.1 mg/kg–779 mg/kg). Metals founds in the earth-crust are correlated in the ginger products, which suggests similar uptake pattern. Statistical analysis showed that the origin of the samples as well processing method (drying, grinding) have an impact on the elemental pattern in ginger, whilst no correlation between packaging material (none, glass, plastic) and elemental contents in the products was found.