Fluctuations in Foodborne Nickel as an Outcome of Industrial Processing

Foodborne nickel content was determined in six strains of oat in a year‐on‐year analysis. Results are depicted by relative standard deviation ( RSD ) values of 17.94 and 31.41%. Wider range of differential is featured in processed foods, with RSD spanning 10–65%. While most studies are confined to analyses in output data only, in this article we dissect the mechanisms that underlie nickel migration in the progress of industrial processing. After‐effects attributed to manufacturing are tracked with graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometer throughout the production cycle. As it starts with raw harvest, nickel content often exceeds 600 ng/g. Most is discarded when middlings are cleaned into grains and after bran is separated. Although there is little discrepancy between checkpoint stages of flour and bread ( ΔNi 2 +  = 4   −   23   ng / g ), it is the intermediate phases where nickel content fluctuations are most pronounced. Procedure involving numerous backslopping steps favors nickel pool enrichment, while thermal processing was found to entail its reduction. Practical Applications Unintentional nickel supplementation during food processing exerts influence on the dietary properties of produced commodities. This is especially significant taken relatively large number of hypersensitive consumers, whose best interest is to limit daily nickel intake. We examined bread production cycles in their thoroughness and gathered data on ever changing nickel content with an inclusion of sequential intermediate phases that are rarely of analytical interest. These phases give an insight into subtle changes reflected in chemical composition of bakery products. If account is taken of presented knowledge, it will allow more aware manufacturing practice and, in consequence, higher quality and nutritional safety of produced foodstuffs.