Essential elements (Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn) in pork and duck liver paste produced in Spain.

The contents of four essential elements, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, were determined in 152 samples of pork and duck liver paste produced in Spain. The average concentration levels that were measured are 1.2 micrograms/g for Mn, 51.6 micrograms/g for Fe, 6.1 micrograms/g for Cu and 22.2 micrograms/g for Zn in pork liver pastes and 0.8 micrograms/g for Mn, 32.3 micrograms/g for Fe, 2.7 micrograms/g for Cu and 12.9 micrograms/g for Zn in duck liver pastes. The possible sources of these trace elements were investigated: product formulation, technological processing and packaging. Liver, the basic raw material, is the main source of trace elements in the final product; significantly high concentrations have been observed for all of the elements that were analysed in the pork liver pastes compared with the duck liver pastes.