Selenium in commercial beer and losses in the brewing process from wheat to beer S. Rodrigo a,⇑ , S.D. Young b , D. Cook b , S. Wilkinson b , S. Clegg b , E.H. Bailey b , A.W. Mathers b , M.R. Broadley b a Agricultural Engineering School, University of Extremadura, Avda. Adolfo Suárez s/n, 06007 Badajoz, Spain b School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough LE12 5RD, UK article info Article history: Received 20 November 2014 Received in revised form 7 February 2015 Accepted 24 February 2015 Available online 28 February 2015 Keywords: Beer Selenium Brewing Survey ICP-MS abstract There is increasing interest in enhancing the micronutrient composition of cereals through fertilization. The aims of this study were (1) to determine the Se concentration of commercial beers retailing in the UK, and (2) to test if the transfer of Se, from biofortified grain to final beer product, is <10% under UK culti- vation conditions, as seen previously under Mediterranean conditions. The Se concentration of 128 com- mercial beers was measured, using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The selenium content of commercial beers varied 6.5-fold, with beers originating from America having higher Se concentrations than those from Europe. Laboratory-scale brewing trials with isotopically-enriched 77 Se wheat, sampled from UK field-sites, showed that most 77 Se losses in the brewing process occurred during mashing (54%), with fermented beer containing 10% of the 77 Se initially present in the wheat grain. Total N values in wort and malt were positively correlated with the 77 Se content of the wheat grain. Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Selenium (Se) is an essential element for animals and humans. Low Se status has been associated with increased risk of mortality, impaired immune function and cognitive decline (Fairweather-Tait et al., 2011; Rayman, 2012). The Committee on the Medical Aspects of Food Policy (COMA) proposed a Reference Nutrient Intake (RNI) of 60 and 75 lgd 1 for females and males, respectively, based on a requirement of 1 lg Se kg 1 body weight d 1 (Fairweather-Tait et al., 2011). However, the most recent estimates of Se intake in the UK are 48–58 lgd 1 (Food Standards Agency, 2009). Bread and cereals represent 18–24% of total Se intake in the UK (Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food, 1997), and several studies have focussed on the potential of enriching cereals, using Se-containing fertilizers, as is practiced routinely in Finland (Broadley et al., 2010; Rodrigo, Santamaría, López-Bellido, & Poblaciones, 2013). In UK situations, it is likely that Se application rates of <10 g Se ha 1 would be suitable for enriching cereals suffi- ciently to address dietary shortfalls (Broadley et al., 2010). If Se fertilizers are to be adopted for cereal crops, it is important to quantify the likely transfer of Se into final food products. For example, in test bakes with UK-grown wheat, 77% and 90% of the Se in the grain was retained in white and wholemeal breads, respectively (Hart et al., 2011); flour derived from Spanish Se- enriched wheat, retained 72% of the initial Se in the grain (Poblaciones, Santamaría, García-White, & Rodrigo, 2014). Howev- er, much of the grain produced in the UK is used for animal feed and for the production of alcoholic beverages. In beer, produced from barley grown in S. Spain, just 7% of grain Se was retained in the beer, with >80% lost during mashing (Rodrigo, Santamaría, Chen, McGrath, & Poblaciones, 2014). The annual consumption of beer in the UK is approximately 78 kg capita 1 year 1 (FAO, 2011). The aims of this study were (1) to determine the baseline Se content of commercial beers retailing in the UK, and (2) to test if the transfer of Se from biofortified cereal grain to final beer product is <10% under UK cultivation conditions, as seen previously in beer produced from Spanish barley. 2. Materials and methods 2.1. Samples 2.1.1. Beer survey Commercial beers (n = 128) were purchased from supermarkets or sourced directly from breweries. Seventy-one beers were ana- lyzed without replication; twelve were measured in duplicate, sev- en in triplicate and three with four-fold replication. Replicate http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2015.02.121 0308-8146/Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. ⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +34 924 289 300; fax: +34 924 286 201. E-mail address: saramrodrigo@gmail.com (S. Rodrigo). Food Chemistry 182 (2015) 9–13 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Food Chemistry journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/foodchem