A survey of the presence of total and hexavalent chromium in lager beers was conducted to understand the variability between different styles of lager beer packaged in glass or cans and to estimate daily intake of total Cr and hexavalent chromium from beer. Graphite-furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy using validated methodologies was applied. Selective extraction of hexavalent chromium was performed using a Chromabond NH2/500 mg column and elution with nitric acid. The detection limits were 0.26 and 0.68 μg L(-1) for total Cr and Cr(VI), respectively. The mean content of total Cr ranged between 1.13 μg L(-1) in canned pale lager and 4.32 μg L(-1) in low-alcohol beers, whereas the mean content of Cr(VI) was <2.51 μg L(-1). Considering an intake of 500 mL of beer, beer consumption can contribute approximately 2.28-8.64 and 1.6-6.17% of the recommended daily intake of chromium for women and men, respectively.
Keywords: chromium speciation; food chemistry; graphite-furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy; lager beers; method validation.