This European Standard specifies a method for the determination of the minerals calcium, sodium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium and sulphur and the elements iron, zinc, copper, manganese, cobalt in animal feeding stuffs by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) after pressure digestion. The method was fully statistically tested and evaluated within 11 animal feeding stuff samples for the minerals calcium, sodium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium and sulphur and the elements iron, zinc, copper, manganese and cobalt. For potassium and sulphur the HORRAT values were mostly higher than 2. Therefore, for these elements the method is more applicable as a screening method and not for confirmatory purposes. Other elements like molybdenum, lead, cadmium, arsenic were not fully statistically tested and evaluated within 11 animal feeding stuff samples because these elements did not occur in concentrations higher than the limit of quantification in most of these samples. A single laboratory validation is therefore necessary for the use of this multi element method for these elements. The method limit of quantification for each element is dependent on the sample matrix as well as on the instrument. The method is not applicable for determination of low concentrations of elements. A limit of quantification of 1 mg/kg should normally be obtained.
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