Digestion of food samples for total mercury determination

A method of digestion by using a mixture of hydrochloric, nitric, and sulfuric acids has been developed for the determination of total mercury in a wide range of food samples. Good recoveries of mercury were obtained from NBS (National Bureau of Standards) Albacore Tuna and from food samples spiked with inorganic mercury. A detection limit of 0.01 microgram mercury/g can be obtained.