The determination of polyoxyethylene emulsifiers in foods

Abstract

A preliminary investigation showed that polyoxyethylene emulsifiers contain substantial amounts of "free" polyethylene glycol. An improved method for determining these emulsifiers in foods is presented, in which the emulsifier is extracted with chloroform, "cleaned up" on an alumina column and analysed by thin-layer chromatography with a modified Dragendorff reagent to spray the chromatogram. The method is a t least f 1 5 per cent. accurate down to an emulsifier level of 0.01 per cent. in fats and 0.001 per cent. in baked foods and food mixes. The detection of polyoxyethylene emulsifiers can be carried out a t even lower levels.

Investigating the Molecular Heterogeneity of Polysorbate Emulsifiers by MALDI-TOF MS

“…Techniques such as colorimetry (5,6), infrared spectroscopy (6), and gravimetric determination by precipitation (7,8) focus on qualitative detection of polysorbates in food products. Quantification and rudimentary characterization have been attempted using techniques such as thin-layer chromatography (5,6,9,10), gas chromatography (6,11,12), high-performance liquid chromatography (10,13), OHnegative ion chemical ionization mass spectrometry (14), and recently, an optical chemical sensor method (15). Unfortunately, none of these methods allows satisfactory separation or resolution of the individual polymer species, nor identification of the components.…”

Food Emulsifiers and Their Applications

“…Thin layer chromatography (TLC) and paper chromatography have been used to identify food emulsifiers (Wyrziger, 1968;Murohy and Grislet, 1969;Murphy and Hibbert, 1969;Murphy and Scott, 1969). Samples may be spotted on a plate, coated with an adsorbent, such as silica, alumna, or florisil.…”