Analysis of the Concentration and Formation Behavior of Naturally Occurring Formaldehyde Content in Food

Abstract

In recent years, in spite of being legally prohibited, formaldehyde is reported to be widely used as a food preservative to increase the shelf life of fruits and fishes in tropical countries. The hot and humid weather of the tropical countries tends to quickly deteriorate fruits, vegetables, fishes, meat and other food items. Formaldehyde is detrimental to human health and reported as a human carcinogenic. To prohibit formaldehyde application in foods, the regulatory bodies often conduct on the spot analytical tests to detect artificially added formaldehyde in food items. However, formaldehyde is ubiquitous in the environment and is present in many animal and plant species as a product of their normal metabolism. Formaldehyde can be found naturally in food items including fruits, vegetables, meats, marine fishes and crustaceans. The formation and concentration of natural occurring formaldehyde may vary according to food types and conditions. The naturally occurring formaldehyde may interfere in the detection of artificially added formaldehyde in foods. It is therefore important to study the concentration and formation mechanism of naturally occurring formaldehyde in food items. The objective of this study is to determine naturally occurring formaldehyde levels in different fruits, vegetables and (cow) milk samples. In addition, time dynamic behavior of the formation of endogenous formaldehyde content in food sample (banana sample; AAB genome of Musa Spp.) was studied in this study.

Durability Analysis of Formaldehyde/Solid Urban Waste Blends

“…Formaldehyde is used in chemical synthesis in the production of detergents, soaps, shampoos, and other cosmetic products as well as for the manufacturing of building materials, such as plywood lacquers, coatings, or glues. Outside of industrial processes, it is also well known that formaldehyde exists naturally in some vegetables and fruits [5]. For instance, pears (38.7–60 mg/kg), grapes (22.4 mg/kg), potatoes (19.5 mg/kg), bananas (16.3 mg/kg), bulb vegetables (11.0 mg/kg), apples (6.3–22.3 mg/kg), carrots (6.7–10.0 mg/kg), and watermelons (9.2 mg/kg) are the aliments that contain the most amount of formaldehyde.…”