“Determinación de cadmio en chocolate para mesa comercializado en los principales Mercados Municipales de Mazatenango, Suchitepéquez”

López Chocooj, Andrea María (2021) “Determinación de cadmio en chocolate para mesa comercializado en los principales Mercados Municipales de Mazatenango, Suchitepéquez”. Other thesis, USAC.

Text 201441292.pdf Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike. Download (2MB)

Abstract

Cadmium (Cd) is a naturally occurring heavy metal with no essential biological functions in humans. It is bioaccumulative and its consumption mainly affects the kidneys, heart, bone system, among others. Anthropogenic activities have increased the content of Cd in soil around the world, affecting agri-food production systems. Therefore, the contamination of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) has recently attracted attention,just after the European Union decided to put into effect the levels of maximum concentrations of Cd in products derived from cocoa. According to data from MINECO (2015), in Guatemala 96% of the national production of cocoa beans is consumed by the local market, mainly as table chocolate. That is why interest arose to determine the presence of cadmium in table chocolate sold in the main municipal markets of Mazatenango, Suchitepéquez. Using random sampling, in order to demonstrate that the presence of cadmium in said product is within the permissible limits by the European Union. A total of 11 samples were analyzed by the atomic absorption spectrophotometry method with a graphite furnace, the minimum value obtained was 0.04 mg / kg and the maximum was 0.27 mg / kg, likewise, a arithmetic mean of 0.13 mg / kg and a standard deviation of 0.08 mg/kg. Based on the results, it can be stated that cadmium levels do not exceed the limit of 0.30 mg/kg established by the EU REGULATION 488/2014 for chocolate with a total dry matter content of cocoa <50%. According to the results obtained, it was concluded that table chocolate is suitable for human consumption, and the levels of said heavy metal do not represent a barrier to international trade in the EU for this product.

Actions (login required)

View Item