The concentrations of sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur and phosphorus (major elements) and iron, copper, zinc, selenium, molybdenum, chromium and manganese (minor elements) in chocolate-flavoured beverages from Sao Paulo State, Brazil, were determined. Different brands of this kind of beverage were analysed after digestion in a microwave oven and the quantification of the elements was done by inductively coupled argon plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP OES). Forty-four different samples from 13 different brands were studied, with significant differences in the contents of both major and minor elements formed between and within the different brands. However, it was possible to conclude that the samples analysed are good sources of K, Ca, Mg, S and P, and mainly those whose compositions included powdered milk. On the other hand, chocolate-flavoured beverages are shown to be poor sources of sodium. The data were examined by multivariate analysis with application of the method of pattern recognition (hierarchical grouping or cluster analysis). (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.95194100