Determination of arsenic leaching from glazed and non-glazed Turkish traditional earthenware

Glazed and non-glazed earthenware is traditionally and widely used in Turkey and most of the Mediterranean and the Middle East countries for cooking and conservation of foodstuff. Acid-leaching tests have been carried out to determine whether the use of glazed and non-glazed earthenware may constitute a human health hazard risk to the consumers. Earthenware was leached with 4% acetic acid and 1% citric acid solutions, and arsenic in the leachates was measured using hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry. Arsenic concentrations in the leach solution of non-glazed potteries varied from 30.9 to 800 μg L⁻¹, while the glazed potteries varied generally from below the limit of detection (0.5 μg L⁻¹) to 30.6 μg L⁻¹, but in one poorly glazed series it reached to 110 μg L⁻¹. Therefore, the risk of arsenic poisoning by poorly glazed and non-glazed potteries is high enough to be of concern. It appears that this is the first study reporting arsenic release from earthenware into food.