In order to evaluate the safety of selected commercial spices brands, concentration of lead, mercury and arsenic, as well as moisture and mineral contents were analyzed in samples of dried black and white pepper powders, black, white and green peppercorns, black cumin seeds and ginger powder. Lead (Pb), mercury (Hg) and arsenic (As) concentrations in spice samples purchased from local markets in Belgrade were determined, after a microwave digestion of the samples, by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS), using the graphite furnace AAS technique (Pb), cold vapor AAS technique (Hg) and hydride generation AAS technique (As). Trace levels of Pb, Hg and As in the selected dried spices samples were in the range 0.10 ppm  0.79 ppm, 0.01 ppm  0.10 ppm and 0.01 ppm  0.51 ppm, respectively. The maximum Pb concentration was determined in the sample of ginger and it was 0.79 ppm, the maximum concentration of Hg was 0.10 ppm, determined in green peppercorns samples, while the maximum concentration of As in powdered black pepper sample was 0.51 ppm. The moisture and mineral contents in the different analyzed spices were in the range 1.7013.10% and 3.406.50%, respectively. According to the obtained results, the concentrations of the analyzed toxic elements, as well as the moisture and mineral content in selected spices, were below the maximum permissible limits declared by the national legislations deemed safe for human consumption.

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