QUALITY OF FOOD-GRADE SALT IN THE UKRAINIAN MARKET: ELEMENTAL COMPOSITION

The elemental composition of table salt around the world is of considerable interest. Following the full-scale invasion of 2022-2023, the quality of table salt in Ukraine in the period required additional research. Therefore, we analyzed 10 samples of table salt from Ukrainian retail chains by country of origin (Romania, Turkey, Greece, Poland, Italy, Israel, Ukraine) for the content of Fe, Zn, Co, Ba, Cr, Mn, Mo, Ni, Si, V, Cd, Cu, Pb, and Sr using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The zinc (Zn) content in salt of Ukrainian origin that was re-exported from Azerbaijan was 0.054 ppm, while a sample from SE "Artyomsol" had a content of 0.1035 ppm. The barium (Ba) content in a mixed sample (SE "Artyomsol"-Romania-Turkey) was 1.1750 ppm, which is significantly higher than in all other salts, where the content ranged from 0.0036 to 0.33 ppm. The nickel (Ni) content in the re-exported salt from Azerbaijan was 0.0032 ppm, almost 2.3 times higher than in the SE "Artyomsol" sample. Compared to the same sample, the silicon content was 1.45 times higher, and the strontium content was 1.8 times higher. Contamination with sand, barium salts, and violations of storage conditions are possible reasons that affected the comparability of the above values. In all the salt samples, silicon, molybdenum, manganese, and iron were the quantitatively predominant elements, despite the different origins of the salts. The cobalt (Co) content in all studied salt samples was the most consistent, with an average of 0.00179 ppm. The analysis showed that salt from Romania contained the most zinc and cadmium, and salt from Italy contained the most lead and strontium. An incomparable excess of lead was recorded in the mixed sample. Salt of Ukrainian origin is among the top five in terms of manganese, zinc, cobalt, chromium, molybdenum, vanadium, and iron content. The sample of salt from Drohobych saltworkscontained the lowest amount of toxic elements, and no strontium was detected at all, which makes it a leader in quality.