Macro- and Trace Elements in Fresh Fruits from the Reșița Agri-Food Market, Romania—Chemometric Analysis and Health Risk Assessment

Fruits are an important source of essential minerals, but can also contribute to the intake of potentially toxic elements. This study determined the moisture, macroelement (Na, K, Ca, Mg) and trace element (Cu, Mn, Fe, Cd, Pb, Zn, Cr) contents of 15 fruit species purchased from the agri-food market in Reșița, Romania, by flame and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. The data were evaluated by principal component analysis (PCA), k-means and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and used to assess the health risk. Mean contents followed the orders K > Ca > Mg > Na and Fe > Zn > Mn > Cu > Cr > Pb > Cd, strawberry being the richest in most elements. The first three principal components explained over 93% of the variance and the samples clustered with literature data for the same species. Pb and Cd contents were well below EU and Codex Alimentarius limits. For daily intakes of 200 g (adults) and 175 g (children aged 6–9 years), all hazard quotients were below 1 and the margin of exposure indicated a low risk from Pb; thus, under the evaluated scenarios, the analysed fruits pose no health concern and are a valuable source of essential minerals.