Food products ingredients analysis

Typical examples that fall in this group would be the determination of the active ingredients in analgesic tablets for pharmaceutical use, such as aspirin or codeine or the analysis of a food product such as margarine. Examples of both these analyses will be described to illustrate the sample preparation procedure. 

For example, in order to meet the demanding requirements of legislation such as the European Union (EU) Baby Food Directive (Directive 95/5/EC and subsequent revisions), analysts must improve on the scope and sensitivity of multiresidue methods of analysis. This Baby Food Directive, which became effective on 1 July 2002, limits residues of all pesticides to a maximum level of 0.01 mgkg There will also be a banned list of pesticides, annexed to the Directive, which will not permit the use of certain pesticides on crops intended for use in baby food production. As a consequence, food manufacturers often require residue results for raw or primary ingredients within 24 8 h of sample receipt at the laboratory. 

The reasons for mercury pesticide poisoning deserve especially close analysis. OMPs were detected not only in cereals where they could be found since they were used, but also in fish products. We must keep in mind that according to existing public health standards, in principle, granosan (active ingredient ethyl mercury chloride), and especially OMPs (in the mixtures mercury benzol and mercury hexane, the active ingredient is also ethyl mercury chloride), presence in food products is banned [5]. Therefore, the notation exceeds MPL is not appropriate. 

The use of near-infrared spectroscopy is also an effective approach to the analysis of artificial sweeteners. The near-infrared spectrum of saccharin is shown in Figure 6.8c. As aromatic compounds are not very common in food products, the modes due to these compounds are therefore very useful. Although saccharin is found at low concentrations in foods, it is normally added as a concentrated solution and this can be monitored by near-infrared measurements in the presence of other ingredients. 

Purification of anthocyanins extracted fi om berries is not deemed necessary if measurement of UV/VlS-absorption (>500 nm) for quantification is used. Except in cases of adulteration with red or blue food colorants the measurement wave lengths are selective enough to quantify anthocyanins in crude extracts. If berry anthocyanins are extracted from complex matrices (dietary supplements or food products) removal of other ingredients extracted is advantageous [125, 126]. For structural elucidation, for the analysis of the specific glycosidation/acylation pattern or the requirement to enrich anthocyanins from low content sources, crude extracts need to be purified and eventually fractionated [63, 67, 114, 118, 127-131]. 

Risk managers are confronted with a host of fairly complex technical, legal, and social issues when making decisions about whether to restrict people s exposure to consumer products, drugs, food ingredients, and environmental chemicals, and about the degree of restriction that is necessary. When all of this complex analysis is done, however, the manager needs to be able to face the public and declare that the final decision will ensure that their health will be protected. The... 

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