FEASIBILITY OF USING SLURRY SAMPLING FOR THE DETERMINATION OF PB IN BLACK PEPPER SAMPLES BY GF AAS

Black pepper is one of the most consumed and commercialized spices in the world. Currently Brazil is one of the world's largest producers of this spice, being the state of Espírito Santo the second largest producer in the country. Since black pepper is widely used for culinary and therapeutic purposes, it is very important to constantly monitor levels of toxic elements in this spice in order to control their quality and safety for human health. A method for the determination of lead (Pb) in black pepper samples using slurry sampling graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry is proposed.