Summary: "Leaching of aluminum from utensils during cooking of food"

The researchers of the article conducted an experiment to study the leaching of aluminum from utensils made of aluminum, indalium (an alloy of aluminum), stainless steel, and hard anodized aluminum under different conditions of pH and boiling time. The study focused on the influence of acidic, alkaline, and neutral pH solutions and various food samples on the leaching of aluminum from different types of utensils. Food spices and ingredients in preparing Indian food were also tested to determine the amount of aluminum. Finally, the accumulation of aluminum in Indian dishes during cooking was also determined.

The experimental results for the solutions concluded that leaching of aluminum metal is higher in acidic samples. Legumes were found to have the most leaching of aluminum in the sample. Rice and wheat were found to have the less amounts of aluminum than legumes. Most of the spices were found to have low traces of aluminum except for pepper, which had the same amount of aluminum as one type of legumes. Spices such as cardamom, mustard, and cloves were found to have the least amount of aluminum.

When preparing Indian dishes such as sambar, kadhi, chicken curry, and mutton curry, leaching of aluminum was found to be higher in first-time preparations with the new utensils than the subsequent preparations using the same utensils. High acidity of food dishes resulted in a greater leaching of aluminum from the utensils. Leaching from aluminum than indalium utensils were higher, while hard anodized aluminum utensils showed negligible leaching.

The last claim that the researchers make is that the leaching of aluminum in food does not exceed the World Health Organization’s provisional tolerable weekly intake of aluminum. The permissible daily intake of aluminum is 50 mg for a 50-kg person. According to the experiment, the total daily intake of aluminum was calculated for the cooked foods, and it was found to be less than the limit. However, the use of aluminum utensils contributes significantly to the total daily intake of aluminum through food. Therefore, the experiment concluded that that it is advantageous to use anodized utensils when preparing food, especially when they are acidic.