Determination of chromium in wine and other alcoholic beverages consumed in Spain by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

A reliable and rapid method is described for the determination of chromium in alcoholic beverages by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) after optimization of the temperature-time program for the graphite furnace. Chromium in wines was determined directly without sample pretreatment. Other samples were first mineralized with HNO 3 and V 2 O 5 . The method was validated, and its analytical characteristics were checked. The detection limit was 1 pg (for a sample volume of 10 μL). Accuracy was 99.20 ± 3.80% for wines and 98.90 ± 2.00% for other beverages. Precision ranged from 3.50 to 4.50%. The proposed method was applied to 124 samples of alcoholic beverages frequently consumed in Spain. Mean values obtained (μg/L) were 20.28 for wines, 8.75 for beer, 7.85 for cider, 14.60 for brandy, 7.50 for rum, 10.25 for whisky, 8.80 for gin, 9.25 for vodka, 24.45 for anisette, and 10.08 for liquors. The advantages of the proposed method (rapidity, sensitivity) and versatility) make it useful for routine analyses and for estimations of dietary intake of chromium.