Instrument: 7000 Headspace Autosampler
Monitoring Residual Solvents in Foods And Food Contact Packaging by Gas Chromatography
Extraction solvents are used in the production of a variety of food products, including fats and oils, cereal grains, coffee, and tea. The residual solvents have become a concern both in food products and in food contact packaging materials. On the regulatory side, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has provided guidance on acceptable levels of residual solvents in food products. The European Union (EU) also has published regulations pertaining to the use of extraction solvents in foodstuffs. In addition to the actual food product, packaging materials should be tested to determine if they contain residual solvents. Depending on what is contained within the packaging and the use conditions, contamination of the food or beverage might occur.
Our objective was to develop chromatographic procedures for monitoring
residual solvents in food and food contact packaging materials. Ideally,
we would be able to analyze all of the volatile compounds in a single
chromatographic analysis using either a flame ionization detector (FID) or
a mass selective detector (MSD). Because of the wide range of polarities
and volatilities displayed by potential residual solvents in foods, a specialized stationary phase containing a mixture of polymeric materials was selected. This gave the best resolution of the target compounds from the list of residual solvents possible in foodstuffs.
The optimized gas chromatographic (GC) procedures for monitoring residual solvents in both food and food packaging materials will be discussed. The results from the analyses of a variety of food materials and food containers will be presented. The materials can be easily sampled using a dynamic headspace, purge and trap technique. The chromatographic procedures discussed in this paper provide sensitive, qualitative approaches for monitoring residual solvents in foods and food contact materials.
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