Page 343 - Analytical method for food addtives

26

E954: Saccharin

26.1 Introduction

The major food groups contributing to dietary intake of saccharin include a wide
variety of foods with maximum permitted levels of 100–200 mg/kg (mustard
240 mg/kg; weight control diets 500 mg/kg; vitamin preparations, chewing gum
1200 mg/kg; ‘Essoblaten’ 800 mg/kg) and soft drinks 80 mg/kg; ‘Gaseoza’ 100 mg/
kg; various beers and cider 80 mg/kg). The acceptable daily intake (ADI) for
saccharin (expressed as saccharin acid) is 5 mg/kg body weight.

26.2 Methods of analysis
There are various methods published for the determination of saccharin in food-
stuffs. Methods available for saccharin in foodstuffs include spectrometric, 1–3
4
5
differential pulse polarography, sublimation, potentiometric, 6–10 micellar
11
electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MECC) and HPLC. 12–19 A summary of
these methods is given in Table 26.1, together with the matrices for which the
methods are applicable. If statistical parameters for these methods were available
these have been summarised in Table 26.2. Three of these methods are AOAC
Official Methods of Analysis, 4,5,16 and three methods have been accepted as
European Standards. 1,12,13
The three AOAC Official Methods for the determination of saccharin in foods
are the following:
1 Saccharin in food, differential pulse polarographic method. 4
2 Saccharin in food, sublimation method. 5
3 Benzoate, caffeine and saccharin in soda beverages, liquid chromatographic
method. 16