A comparison among different instrumental approaches for bromide analysis in foodstuffs digested by a suitably modified microwave procedure

Cathodic stripping voltammetry (CSV), ion-chromatography, (IC) and spectrophotometry (SP) have been tested as instrumental approaches alternative to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for the determination of inorganic bromide residues in foodstuffs fumigated with brominated pesticides and digested by a suitably improved microwave procedure proposed previously. They were chosen in view of the fact that the relevant instrumentation is less expensive than that required for ICP-MS and more frequently available in analytical laboratories designed for routine food control. These approaches were compared with one another, as well as with the ICP-MS method previously adopted, not only with regard to their performance, but also in terms of the interferences caused by the composition of final samples coming from the microwave digestion procedure. The results found pointed out unambiguously that IC turns out to be well suited for replacing ICP-MS, thanks to its consistency with the composition of digested samples and its good sensitivity which allows a quite low detection limit for bromides (0.2 mg kg(-1)) to be achieved. Conversely, CSV and SP performance appears to be significantly affected by interferences caused by the presence in digested samples of chlorides and ammonium ions respectively.