Determination of arsenic and selenium in foods by electroanalytical techniques

Arsenic and selsnium are determined in foods be differential pulse polarography and cathodic stripping voltammetry. The sample is digested with nitric acid and magnesium nitrate and then dissolved in dilute hydrochloric acid. An aliquot is removed, the arsenic is chemically reduced to the trivalent state, and interferences are removed by ion exchange before polarography. Selenium is determined in a second aliquot by cathodic stripping voltammetry. Recoveries for both elements in several foods were from 90 to 110%. The relative standard deviations for arsenic at 5 ppm and selenium at 0.48 ppm were 5.8 and 7.3%, respectively.