Quality characteristics for inorganic substances in bottled mineral water sold in the city of São Paulo/SP

Abstract

Mineral water is a natural resource important to human health, as it has chemical and physicochemical characteristics in its composition that are necessary to maintain the proper balance of various biochemical processes and physiological mechanisms that occur in the human body. Still, there is a concern with the ingestion of inorganic contaminants, of natural or anthropogenic sources, since these elements, even at low concentrations, can be toxic and a Public Health concern. Therefore, it is essential to assess the quality of mineral waters available for consumption by the population, in compliance with the RDC 274/2005 legislation, regarding the levels of metals and semi-metals. This work aimed to carry out the quantification of the chemical elements Al, Ag, As, Ba, Be, Ca, Cd, Cr, Cu, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Se, Pb, Tl and Zn, in 10 samples of bottled mineral waters of national origin, collected by the São Paulo Sanitary Surveillance in local markets, as part of the São Paulo Food Program, between 2018 and 2019, using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry. For the elements comprised in the current legislation, satisfactory results were obtained for all mineral water samples analyzed. For the other analytes evaluated, the levels were also below the values recommended by international regulations. The results obtained in this study indicated that bottled mineral waters from different brands sold in the city of São Paulo are suitable and safe for the population to consume, regarding the parameters evaluated.