Determination of Synthetic Colors in Some Locally Available Foods of Kashan City, Iran

Aims The synthetic colors are preferred by the food industry because of the variety of shades,intensity, uniformity, excellent solubility and stability. They are used in a variety of foodproducts such as dairy products, beverages, baked products, confections and pet foods. Foodcolors may have toxic effects on the human body. This study aimed to examine the amount ofsynthetic colors in some ready to use foods in Kashan, Iran.Instrument & Methods In this cross sectional study, conducted in Kashan City, Iran, inMarch to October 2015, a total of 52 samples of meat products, 33 samples of sweets, 43samples of drinks and 21 samples of miscellaneous foods were collected. The coloring agentswere extracted of samples and purified using the hydrochloric acid extraction method. Thinlayer chromatography was used to analyze the samples.Findings 72 samples (48.30%) contained no coloring and 77 samples (51.7%) containedartificial colors. The most coloring agents were in sweets (72.7%), drinks (51.2%) and meatproducts samples (48.10%). The quinoline yellow, tartrazine and sunset yellow were themost common coloring used in the various foods.Conclusion About 52% of examined foods contained artificial colors that have been banned bythe national Iranian standards organization.

Determination of Synthetic Colors in Some Locally Available Foods of Kashan City, Iran Keywords:

Coloring Agents , Chromatography , Thin Layer , Food