Aluminum Concentrations in Selected Foods Prepared in Aluminum Cookware, and Its Implications for Human Health

There is evidence, although conflicting, that aluminum is a factor in the development of serious brain disorders like Alzheimers disease since abnormal accumulations of aluminum have been identified within neurons derived from patients suffering from such diseases ( Perl 1985). Abnormal accumulations apparently result from ingestion of aluminum derived from different sources, of which increased intake of aluminum in drinking water caused by acid rain has been much in focus the last years. Stressing side effects like anaemia, osteomalacia, and a neurologic syndrome known as dialysis encephalopathy have been observed in patients with chronic kidney disease. Such patients are exposed to higher aluminum levels than normal from large volumes of water used in dialysis (Precott 1989). It is also well known that high dosages of medicaments like antacids containing aluminum hydroxide contribute to the body burden of aluminum (Spencer 1982). Other important sources are foodstuffs prepared and/or stored in aluminum utensils. However, the latter has attracted little attention and has often been dismissed as trivial compared to other sources (Trapp and Cannon 1981, Lione et al. 1989), despite it having been known for more than half a century that aluminum pots or foils are vulnerable to degradation by acidic or alkaline foods (Glaister and Allison 1913, Campbell et al. 1957, King et al. Will 1981). For example Lione (1983) has shown that an aluminum pot used to prepare tomato sauce can add up to 4 mg aluminum to each serving. Lione et al. (1984) found that coffee brewed in aluminum percolators contained considerable amounts of aluminum, and Aikoh and Nishio (1996) documented significant concentrations of aluminum in beverages stored in aluminum cans.