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Existing scientific literature on the colorimetric determination of polysorbates using ammonium cobaltothiocyanate (ACTC) reagent will be studied. A suitable method will be developed and validated on prepared foods spiked with known concentrations of polysorbates. The developed procedure will be subject to further validation on a variety of real retail foods.
There is a legal obligation for Member States of the European Union to monitor intakes and usage of food additives. Reliable methods are also needed to enable legislation to be enforced in the UK. The polysorbates (E432-436) are a group of emulsifying agents permitted in a range of foods including cakes, ice-cream, salad dressings and sauces. Methodology to detect polysorbates is lacking and this project aims to develop and validate a suitable method.
<p>Find more about this project and other FSA food safety-related projects at the <a href="http://www.food.gov.uk/science/research/" target="_blank">Food Standards Agency Research webpage</a>.