Residual levels of free and total sulphite in fresh and cooked burgers

Abstract

Forty samples of fresh and fried burgers were analysed. A habitual use and often abuse of sulphites was detected. In the case of the uncooked samples, 62.5% contained residual levels of total SO2 above 450 micrograms/g. The frying process was found to lead to a mean reduction of 36.8 +/- 11.1% in the case of free sulphite and of 40.9 +/- 12.6% for total sulphite. This reduction was independent of the concentration of sulphite present and did not seem to be related to the type of meat used. Most burgers cooked in restaurants were found to contain sulphites, sometimes at elevated levels. The HPLC analytical method for the determination of sulphite contents in burgers, previously applied to fresh sausages, was compared with the optimized Monier-Williams method. The results obtained with both methods in the determination of total SO2 were found to have the same precision although there were significant differences in the contents of additive (p < 0.05).

Dietary intake exposure to sulphites in Italy - analytical determination of sulphite-containing foods and their combination into standard meals for adults and children

“…Some foods in which sulphites are authorized according to the current legislation are not consumed in Italy (breakfast sausages, hamburger meat with vegetables/cereals). More generally, in Italy, sulphites are not used in meat and meat products (Quattrucci 1986, Di Lullo et al 1987, Manzi et al 1992, contrary to other European countries such as Spain (Armentia-Alvarez et al 1993). These products were therefore excluded from further analysis.…”

“…Moreover, for wine, labelling is not compulsory and never undertaken. On the other hand, it is largely recognized that the concentration of sulphites is reduced with storage, domestic treatment such as washing and cooking and is often far lower than MPL (Armentia-Alvarez et al 1993). The combination of consumption data with residue levels determined by analysis is therefore required.…”

How meaty? Detection and quantification of adulterants, foreign proteins and food additives in meat products

“…However, these two techniques suffer some analytical uncertainties/weaknesses. Alternatively, Armentia-Alvarez et al (1993) applied another chromatographic method, proposed by Pa ıno-Campa et al (1991), for analysis of fresh and cooked burgers. Regarding the enzymatic method, it is well known that ascorbic acid represents an important interference with this enzymatic reaction (Beutler, 1984), and considering that this compound is widely used in fresh meat preparations (Iammarino & Di Taranto, 2013a), this is an important limitation of this method.…”

“…This method was characterised by high specificity, good sensitivity (LOQ = 8.2 mg kg À1 of SO 2 ), precision (relative standard deviation under repeatable conditions <6.0) and mean recovery (88.6%). Alternatively, Armentia-Alvarez et al (1993) applied another chromatographic method, proposed by Pa ıno- Campa et al (1991), for analysis of fresh and cooked burgers. This method was based on sulphite extraction by a solution composed of sulphuric acid and glycerol, a chromatographic separation accomplished using an anion exclusion column and final detection through an electrochemical detector equipped with a glassy carbon electrode and a Ag/AgCl reference electrode.…”

“…As a consequence, the introduction of a maximum allowable limit of sulphites in fresh meat preparations, equal to 40.0 mg kg À1 (expressed as SO 2 ), was suggested (Iammarino et al, 2012b). In Spain, Armentia-Alvarez et al (1993) carried out a monitoring study focussed on evaluating the levels of sulphites in burgers. The authors underlined a large use/abuse of sulphites in burgers composed of pork and beef meat, up to levels equal to 3008 mg kg À1 (as free SO 2 ), while lower concentrations were detected in burgers composed of meat of chicken origin (≤608 mg kg À1 as free SO 2 ).…”