Determination and optimization of total and inorganic arsenic content in Foods for Special Medical Purposes

• ICP-MS method was developed for detecting total and inorganic arsenic in FSMPs. • H 2 O 2 precludes other interfering substances with the total arsenic concentration. • Total arsenic in special pharmaceuticals can be determined with high accuracy. • This method provides a research reference for the detection standards improvement. Foods for Special Medical Purposes (FSMPs) are often used to meet the nutritional needs of individuals with specific diseases or medical conditions. As a toxic element, arsenic exists widely in soil, water, and organisms, which may result in excessive arsenic residues in FSMPs and pose a serious threat to human health. Therefore, it is essential to develop accurate methods for arsenic detection in FSMPs. In this study, an Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) method was developed for detecting total and inorganic arsenic in FSMPs. Atomic Fluorescence Spectrometry (AFS) and ICP-MS were used to detect arsenic in Quality Control (QC) samples, and the results showed that ICP-MS is a simpler and more accurate method than the AFS. During the determination of total arsenic, the He gas collision/reaction cell was utilised to obtain results that were very close to those of the standard samples. Recovery and precision tests further validate the feasibility of the experimental methodology. For the determination of inorganic arsenic, hydrogen peroxide was used to pretreat the samples to oxidise trivalent arsenic to pentavalent arsenic. The advantages of this method were demonstrated by the results of the QC samples and the results of the recovery and precision tests. Developing this methodology provided experimental data and realistic references for the risk assessment of arsenic contamination in FSMPs.