ABSTRACT
Arsenic, especially inorganic arsenic can cause cardiovascular, neurological and immune system disorders as well as cancers of the liver, bladder, kidney, prostate and lung disease. Recently, the elevated levels of arsenic found in commercially available apple juice has raised great health concern in the United States as well as other part of the world. The total arsenic levels found in the apple juice tested often reached a high of 36 ng/mL (Dr. OZ Show, 2011). Apple juice as one of the most popular fruit juice in the world is also being used to refine sugar or sweeten other food products. It is clear that total arsenic concentration cannot be used alone to identify the hazard of arsenic in apple juice, the information of speciation is imperative in this case. The world production of apple juice is led by China, Poland and Germany. In this study, a number of apple juice samples sourced in China, Poland, Germany, United States and United Kingdom were analysed for As speciation by HPLC-HG-AFS.
