ALUMINUM CONTENT OF SOME CROATIAN WINES

The aluminium (Al) concentration in different brands of white and red Croatian wines was measured, by the Zeeman graphite furnace atomic abs orption spectrophotometry (ZGFAAS) method. The results show that white wines have a slightly higher mean Al concentration (2.82 mg Al/l) tha n red wines (2.51 mg Al/l). The extensive use of bentonite in the fini ng of white wines may be a main factor contributing to the observed hi gher mean Al concentration in white wines. The mean Al concentration o f all wine samples investigated was 2.69 mg Al/l. This Al concentratio n is significantly below the tolerable Al content in Croatian wines (1 0 mg Al/l), established by Croatian Ministry of Agriculture. The evalu ated daily intake of Al ( 1.345 mg Al/day) possible through the consum ption of wines could be a significant source of dietary Al intake, in comparison to the others beverage contribution. However, in relation t o the established tolerable daily dietary Al intake of an adult person (60 mg Al/day), the contribution from wines is very low (practically negligible). Thus, it appears that the Al intake from wines should not be a cause for concern with regard to Al toxicity for the human body.