Integral assessment of the environmental safety of plant-based milk alternatives based on heavy metal analysis

The study presents a comprehensive assessment of the environmental safety of plant-based milk alternatives available on the Russian market. The study included both ready-to-drink commercial beverages from popular brands and laboratoryprepared samples from cereal raw materials. The primary objective has been determination of the levels of toxic and conditionally toxic heavy metals- lead, cadmium, zinc, and copper – and subsequent assessment of the potential non-carcinogenic health risk to adults and children with regular consumption of these products. Laboratory analysis has been performed using atomic absorption spectrometry. The resulting quantitative data have been compared with the established hygienic standards (MPCs). To convert chemical concentrations to health impact assessment, an approved method for calculating exposure doses and hazard quotients (HQs) has been used. The analysis results showed that none of the samples, whether industrial or laboratory, exceeded the MPCs for all four metals. Concentrations varied within safe limits, ranging from 4.8 % to 36.7 % of the corresponding MACs. The key result of the integrated assessment is the calculation of the hazard quotient (HQ). Its values for each metal, as well as the overall risk indicators for all beverage types for adults and children, were significantly less than one (less than 0.01). This clearly indicates no risk of developing non-carcinogenic health effects with long-term consumption. Thus, the study demonstrates that the plant-based milk analogues examined possess a high level of environmental safety in terms of heavy metal content. It has been found that the decisive safety factor is the quality of the original agricultural raw materials, not the type of processing (industrial or laboratory prepared).

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