The Validation of a HPLC System for the Determination of Sweeteners in Soft Drinks

Project start date: 1 September 2001
Project status: Completed
Project type: Food safety
Discipline: Microbiology and food hygiene
Author/s: Mr Michael Walker, Public Analyst’s Laboratory, Northern Ireland
Collaborator/s: Mr Peadar Canavan, Western Region Public Analyst’s Laboratory, Galway

Research objective

This research focused on the development of a laboratory method for the identification and determination of the sweeteners acesulfame K, aspartame and saccharin in soft drinks and similar beverages. The technique investigated was reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with a buffered mobile phase, and detection by ultra violet absorption at 220nm wavelength.

Outputs

Research report

Title: Introduction and set-up of a HPLC system to identify and detect artificial sweeteners in soft drinks
Date: 10 October 2004
Summary: Unpublished report, available on request.
Findings:
The acceptance criteria for the performance characteristics of the developed method were specified and based on guidance on procedure validation issued by the European Medicines Agency. The performance of the method was further evaluated by participation in the Food Analysis Performance Assessment Scheme (FAPAS®) and was found to be within the normal acceptance criteria for collaborative trials."

Other outputs

M. J. Walker, J. McShane, D. Thorburn Burns, P. Canavan and A.Flanagan, 2009, A Cross-border Method Validation for the Determination of Sweeteners in Soft Drinks, J. Assoc. Public Analysts, JAPA (Online)(2009) Volume 37 pg 1-13, available (open access) at JAPA (Online) Volume_36-37

M J Walker, J Mairs and D Thorburn Burns, 2011, Intense Sweeteners and Preservatives: Contemporary Regulation and Historical Baseline Data of the Nature and Amounts in Soft Drinks on open sale in Northern Ireland, JAPA (Online) (2011) Volume 39 pg