This document specifies a method for the determination of total mercury in foodstuffs by cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) after pressure digestion.
This method was tested in an interlaboratory study carried out in connection with the pressure digestion method EN 13805 on seven different materials with a mercury concentration in the range from 0,005 mg/kg to 5,06 mg/kg and successfully validated in the range from 0,015 mg/kg to 5,06 mg/kg.
The following foodstuffs were analysed:
— Saithe (dried);
— Celery (dried);
— Wheat noodle powder;
— Wild mushrooms (dried);
— Pig liver (dried);
— Cacao powder;
— Tuna fish (dried).
The lower limit of the method’s applicability varies depending on the food matrix and the water content of the foodstuff. It is a laboratory-specific value and is defined by the laboratory when calculating the limit of quantification (see 9.2).