The effect of the milling process on the level of aluminum contamination in wheat and flour of Alborz province

Wheat is one of the most widely consumed cereals in the world, especially in Asian countries. There is always a possibility to have carcinogenic toxic agents during the bread preparation process. This study aimed to investigate the influence of the milling process on aluminum contamination levels in produced flours in Alborz province.

After preparing 60 samples of wheat, Sangak flour, Lavash or Taftoon flour from flour milling factories in Alborz province, the concentration of aluminum was quantified by ICP-OES. Data analysis was performed using Prism and SPSS software.

The milling machine affected the amount of aluminum level in the samples in the present study. The contamination level of aluminum has increased after the milling process. The highest average concentration of aluminum was 1.959 ± 0.560 mg/kg.

Bread is considered the main food source for the Iranian people. To preserve food security and decreasing the food contamination, Continuous monitoring and Enforce strict regulation is essential to maintain the quality of wheat and flour in the market. In the present study, the average concentration of aluminum in wheat and flour samples of Alborz province was in agreement with the standard set by the EU, Codex, and Iran.