Harmonization of the EU and Ukrainian Normative Documentation: Case Study on Determination of Barium Content in Mineral Waters to Develop Quality and Safety Criteria

Abstract

The article presents the results of a study on the development of a criterion for the quality and safety of barium content in mineral waters in order to harmonize regulatory documents of the European Union and Ukraine. To develop metrological support for the analysis, it is justified to select the optimal method for determining the content of barium in waters – atomic absorption spectrometry. Validation of the methodology confirmed the conformity of metrological characteristics with the requirements of Directive 2003/40/EC. For the first time, barium content studies in 36 mineral waters of Ukraine were carried out. The concentration of barium in mineral Tab. waters (TDS) ≤1.0 g/l ranged from 0.058 mg/l to 0.8846 mg/l, i.e. <1.0 mg/l (criteria according to Directive 2003/40/EC). The barium concentration range in medicinal-Tab. mineral waters varies from 0.0443 mg/l to 3.7013 mg/l. In 10 of them, the concentration of barium was >1.0 mg/l, not complying with Directive 2003/40/EC. They can affect a person drinking them. Using the correlation and factor analysis, the dominant factor in the formation of the chemical composition of the studied mineral waters was determined, which included bicarbonates, sodium and potassium, total mineralization, orthoboric acid and barium. The criteria for barium concentration assessment in the natural mineral and natural therapeutic and prophylactic waters of Ukraine (1.3 mg/l and 5.0 mg/l respectively) are proposed.