Original research article Essential and non-essential elements in Brazilian infant food and other rice-based products frequently consumed by children and celiac population Tatiana Pedron a , Fabiana Roberta Segura a , Fabio Ferreira da Silva b , Alexandre Luiz de Souza c , Heloisa França Maltez a , Bruno Lemos Batista a, * a Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas, Universidade Federal do ABC, 09210-580 Santo André, SP, Brazil b Agilent Technologies, 06460-040 Barueri, SP, Brazil c Faculdade de Saúde Pública, Universidade de São Paulo, 01246-904 São Paulo, SP, Brazil A R T I C L E I N F O Article history: Received 5 November 2015 Received in revised form 15 March 2016 Accepted 19 April 2016 Available online 22 April 2016 Keywords: Food analysis Food composition Baby food Arsenic speciation Celiac Daily intake Rice HPLC-ICP-MS A B S T R A C T Rice and its derivatives are important source of essential and non-essential elements. Essential elements as cobalt (Co) and selenium (Se) are vital for human homeostasis. However, non-essential elements such as arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) may be present in rice-based food and consequently, people can be exposed—especially children and the celiac population. This study aimed to determine essentials and non-essentials elements in rice-based products and baby food and also to evaluate nutritional risk by estimating the daily intake of non-essential elements. Regarding essential elements, Co and Se presented the highest concentrations in rice flour (56 mg kg 1 ) and porridge (254 mg kg 1 ), respectively. For non- essential elements, the highest concentrations of As, Cd and Pb were 104 mg kg 1 (porridge), 16 mg kg 1 (flour), and 188 mg kg 1 (bread), respectively. Total As concentration in Brazilian rice-based baby food was <29 mg kg 1 . However, As-speciation revealed inorganic-As (i-As) as the main specie. The highest estimated daily intake of Cd, Pb and i-As were 1.37 (rice-based baby food); 10.39 (pasta); and 3.34 (pasta) mg d 1 , respectively. Therefore, continuous food monitoring for nutritional and toxicological purpose is necessary, especially concerning these particular populations and discussions for maximum levels of non-essential elements. ã 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction In Brazil, some of the first solid food that weaning babies eat is rice and rice containing foods, because of its mildness, lack of allergic reactions and properties to make a palatable porridge. In addition, rice products are essential for celiac disease diet, once rice is gluten-free (FENACELBRA, 2016). Celiac disease is a digestive disease caused by gluten intolerance. Gluten is a protein found in barley, wheat and rye (Los Santos Moreno et al., 2012) Celiac disease leads to membrane damage of the small intestine, interfering on nutrients absorption (Husby et al., 2012; Taminiau, 1996). According to Niewinski (2008), at least one person in 266 suffers from celiac disease in the world. Rice and its derivatives are source of essential elements. These elements are important because they assure the occurrence of several biochemical processes that play a fundamental role in human homeostasis (Soetan et al., 2010). These essential elements have many functions. Copper (Cu), for example, is present in enzymes and proteins responsible for the reduction-oxidation processes, protecting the body from free radicals (Klaassen, 2008). Zinc (Zn) is connected to the metalloproteinases, that are involved in processes of gene regulation (Tapiero and Tew, 2003). Since rice-based foods are widely consumed by high-risk groups – children and celiac – the exposure to non-essential elements such as arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) is a global concern (EFSA, 2009a; Munera-Picazo et al., 2014b; OJEU, 2015). For instance, As in adults cause numerous effects: skin cancer, cardiovascular diseases, bladder cancer and diabetes (Klaassen, 2008). Regarding diabetes mellitus, a study showed that celiac disease occurs mainly in patients type 1 (prevalence of 4.4% to 11.1%) compared to the general population (prevalence of * Corresponding author at: Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas, Universidade Federal do ABC, Rua Santa Adélia 166, Vila São Pedro, 09210-170 Santo André, SP, Brazil. E-mail addresses: bruno.lemos@ufabc.edu.br, brlemos@hotmail.com (B.L. Batista). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfca.2016.04.005 0889-1575/ã 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 49 (2016) 78–86 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Food Composition and Analysis journa l homepage: www.e lsevier.com/locate/jf ca