Development and validation of a GF-AAS method and its application for the trace level determination of Pb, Cd, and Cr in fish feed samples commonly used in the hatcheries of Bangladesh

Background: A sensitive, accurate and precise method was developed and validated in regard to Council Directive 333/2007/EC, Commission Decision 657/2002/EC, ISO/IEC 17025:2005 and EURACHEM 1998 for the trace level determination of Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd) and Chromium (Cr) in fish feed samples using Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (GF-AAS). Methods: For method validation, selectivity, working and linear ranges, limit of detection (LoD), limit of quantification (LoQ), trueness (recovery) and precision (repeatability and reproducibility) have been assessed as performance criteria. Results: The method LoDs for Pb, Cd and Cr were found to be 0.078, 0.010 and 0.022 μg/g respectively, whereas, the method LoQs were obtained at 0.156, 0.021 and 0.044 μg/g respectively. Moreover, the recovery of the analytes was 90 – 104% and the RSD values for precision were 4.90 – 9.60% respectively. Conclusions: The method validation performance criteria indicate the method’s suitability for trace level quantification of Pb, Cd, and Cr in fish feed samples.