Codex Alimentarius standards

Purity criteria are published by JECFA as well as by national authorities. The JECFA specifications33 may be endorsed by the Codex Alimentarius as advisory specifications which means that they are equivalent to a Codex Alimentarius standard. In the EU a directive laying down special criteria of purity for sweeteners for use in foodstuffs with subsequent amendments sets the purity standards,31 while in the USA criteria may be listed in conjunction with the approval. Normally a monograph of the Food Chemicals Codex34 is considered the applicable basis for assessment of purity. 

HPLC analysis of TAGs was applied to olive oils and a limit for LLL was established at 0.5% of the total TAGs and enclosed in the European Commission (EC) Regulation on olive oils, as well as in the related international norms (International Olive Oil Trade Norm [2], Codex Alimentarius Standard [3]). The method performed the separation by RP-HPLC on a C18 Lichrosorb or Lichrosphere column, 25x0.46 cm, 5 J,m of particle size, isocratic elution with acetone/acetonitrile (50/50 v/v) and RI detection. Eigure 19.1 reproduced the HPLC traces annexed to the official method [4] chromatogram A refers to 100% soybean oil, B to a mixture 50/50 soybean and olive, C 100% olive oil. 

Butter oil or anhydrous milk fat is a refined product prepared by centrifuging melted butter or by separating the milk fat from high-fat cream. There are no federal standards in the United States, but the FAO has published, in the Codex Alimentarius, standards of 99.3% fat and 0.5% moisture for butter oil and 99.8% fat and 0.1% moisture for anhydrous butter oil (FAO 1973). 

TABLE 4. Codex Alimentarius Standards for Lard, Rendered Pork Fat, Premier Jus, and Edible Tallow. ... 

TABLE 7. Codex Alimentarius Standard Levels of Desmethylsterols in Peanut Oil (102). 

Table 5 lists the first FAOAVHO Codex Alimentarius Standard of the sesame oil fatty acid composition as reported by O Connor and Herb (25) and the most recent Codex Standard (24). Besides the four major fatty acids, there are low... 

The People s Republic of China used Codex Alimentarius standards as model in designing its General Standard for the Labeling of Foods, which went into effect on 1.2.95. 

The Codex Alimentarius standard includes limits for acidity, volatile matter, insoluble impurities, peroxide value, colour, odour, taste, iron, copper, K27o, AK, permitted additives, contaminants (lead, arsenic, halogenated solvents), refractive index, saponification value, iodine value and unsaponifiable matter. Physical and chemical constants, such as iodine value and saponification value, are not found in the EU regulation. This is explained by the fact that more definite information is obtained by determining fatty acid composition, sterol and wax composition, trans fatty acid content, stigmastadiene, and so on. 

According to the Codex Alimentarius standard 223-2001, kimchi is a product predominantly prepared from Chinese cabbage (firassica rapa pekinensis syn. Brassica pekinensis Rupr) as well as from other cleaned, sliced, salted and spiced vegetables subjected to a fermentation. 

As well as these titrimetric methods, the AOAC details a potentiometric method that is also recommended in Codex Alimentarius standards. The vegetables or legumes are dispersed in water and acidified, with the soluble chlorides titrated potentiometrically with silver nitrate. Many instruments are also now available with ion-selective electrodes that can be applied to the determination of salt in foods. They offer reasonable accuracy with ease of use and are particularly suitable for quality assurance purposes. 

Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is generally measured by indirect methods. The AOAC describes a modified Monier Williams method, while the Codex Alimentarius standards and EC directive recommend the modified Tanner method both are based on similar principles, involving the distillation of the SO2 from an acidified aqueous suspension of the food. The evolved gas is subsequently trapped in... 

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