A detailed protocol was applied to the study and quantification of Al,
Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Pt, Sr and Zn in raw cow's mi
lk and dairy products. The investigation was prompted by the paucity o
f data available on minor and trace elements in such matrices, despite
their importance in nutrition or in food contamination. As a part of
an overall monitoring programme, a study was thus undertaken with the
following goals: (i) actual measurement of the concentration of the af
oresaid elements in milk and related products; (ii) identification of
possible correlations between animal feeding, time of year of sample c
ollection, environmental condition and levels of elements in raw cow's
milk; and (iii) evaluation of the influence of the manufacturing proc
ess on the concentration ranges of certain health-related elements in
milk products. Quantitative determinations were carried out by means o
f inductively-coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). T
he results obtained show considerable differences among the levels of
trace elements in raw milk and those in derived products. This provide
s evidence of the fact that manufacturing processes play a key role in
the distribution of trace elements.