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Chemical characterization of baby food consumed in Italy
Maria Assunta Meli1, Donatella Desideri1, Davide Sisti1
1Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Università di Urbino Carlo Bo, Urbino (PU) Italy.
Insights
Italian baby foods offer essential nutrients like iron and zinc, meeting up to 70% of infant needs. Toxic element intake remains safely below limits, ensuring good quality and health for infants.
Area of Science:
- Food Science
- Analytical Chemistry
- Pediatric Nutrition
Background:
- Assessing the nutritional and toxicological profile of infant foods is crucial for child health.
- European-produced baby foods are widely consumed by infants in Italy.
- Understanding elemental composition ensures dietary adequacy and safety for vulnerable populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the levels of 30 essential and toxic elements in 25 baby foods consumed by Italian infants (0-6 months).
- To compare estimated infant intakes with established nutritional requirements and safety limits.
- To evaluate the overall quality and safety of commercially available baby foods in Italy.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 30 elements using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometry (ICP-AES) and Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS).
- Quantification of elements in 25 different baby food products.
- Calculation of estimated daily intakes and comparison with Adequate Intake (AI) and Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake (PTWI) values.
Main Results:
- Baby foods provided significant contributions to essential minerals (Mn, Cu, Fe, Zn, Ca, K, P), meeting up to 70% of Adequate Intake (AI) for 6-12 month olds.
- Detectable toxic elements were consistently below safety limits, with the highest concentrations not exceeding 86% of the Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake (PTWI).
Conclusions:
- Commercially available baby foods in Italy are of good nutritional quality.
- The analyzed baby foods do not pose health risks to infants due to safe levels of toxic elements.
- These findings support the safety and nutritional adequacy of European-produced baby foods for Italian infants.
Abstract:
In this study, a total of 30 elements (essential and non-essential or toxic) were determined in 25 foods consumed in Italy by children aged 0-6 months and produced in Europe. Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometry and Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry were used as measurement techniques for the elements of interest. The estimated intakes for one-year-old infants were compared with risk estimators and nutritional requirements. Data indicate that commercially available baby food in Italy provides an excellent contribution for Mn, Cu, Fe, Zn, Ca, K, and P, covering up to approximately 70% of the adequate intake (AI) for an infant aged 6-12 months. The intake of detectable toxic elements was always below the safety limit: even the most concentrated toxic elements never exceeded about 86% of the Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake (PTWI). This result indicates that the analyzed baby food is of good quality and does not pose risks to children's health.
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