Across the world, there has been an increase in the consumption of food supplements. This may be due to the perception that these dietary supplements cannot negatively affect the health of consumers in any way. However, dietary supplements may not have the expected effect. In addition, it has been shown that supplements can sometimes be chemically, physically or microbiologically contaminated, if the hygiene conditions and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) plan are not fully complied with. The aim of this study was to determine the lead and cadmium content of 41 food supplements available on the Romanian market and to assess the risk to consumer health. The graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) technique was used for sample analysis after wet mineralization of the samples. The risk assessment was determined based on Estimated Daily Intake (EDI), Target Hazard Quotient (THQ), and Carcinogenic Risk (CR) calculations. Values obtained for both lead and cadmium fall within the limits imposed by the legislation in force. Small risks associated with the consumption of these food supplements was shown, with a main recommendation being to decrease the recommended daily dose in the case of food supplements.

The use of seasonings is important in food industry because the bioactive compounds contained in these dried aromatic plants improve the taste and the flavor of food. These dried aromatic plants can often be contaminated with some heavy metals, polycyclic carbohydrates residues and pesticides which may occur during the cultivation operation, drying process, manufacture and conditioning. The aim of this study is to determine the contamination with heavy metals (lead, cadmium, chromium, nickel and cobalt) of basil (B), rosemary (R) and peppermint (M) seasonings used in Romanian cuisine. The concentration of lead ranged 0.058 - 0.643 mg.kg-1 (M), 0.209 - 0.493 mg.kg-1 (R), 0.077 - 0.139 mg.kg-1 (B). The concentration of cadmium varied: 0.004 - 0.035 mg.kg-1 (M), 0.004 - 0.007 mg.kg-1 (R), 0.002 - 0.009 mg.kg-1 (B). The concentration of chromium ranged 0.304 - 0.403 mg.kg-1 (M), 0.450 - 0.457 mg.kg-1 (R), 0.208 - 0.336 mg.kg-1 (B). The concentration of nickel varied from 0.376 - 0.848 mg.kg-1 (M), 0.354 - 0.427 mg.kg-1 (R), 0.230 - 0.334 mg.kg-1 (B). The concentration of cobalt ranged 0.037 - 0.167 mg.kg-1 (M), 0.065 - 0.137 mg.kg-1 (R), 0.112 - 0.156 mg.kg-1 (B).

The use of packaging materials is important in the pharmaceutical industry. The pharmaceutical industry uses, as primary packaging materials, glass bottles, blister packs, caps and closures, glass vials, sealed tubes. The aim of this study is to perform global component migration analyses on these types of packaging, to see if there is a possibility of migration of components from the pharmaceutical package into the drug, so as not to alter in any way its therapeutic properties. The results obtained from the processing of the extracts obtained were below the maximum limits allowed for each category of packaging, respectively, plastic, paper and cardboard, glass.