Comparative determination of free and combined sulphites in foods by the modified rankine method and flame photometric detection gas chromatography. V.

Abstract

Application of the modified Rankine (MR), GLC and present official Monier-Williams methods to the determination of sulphites in a variety of foods was attempted. Generally, sulphite contents determined by these three methods were in good agreement although the values obtained by the modified Monier-Wiliams method were slightly higher than by the other two. A marked interfering effect of other sulphur compounds was observed in the case of determinations by the Monier-Williams method. On the other hand, the determined sulphite values by the MR and GLC methods were independent of the coexisting sulphur compounds. The ratios of free or combined sulphites to total sulphites were compared among the two methods, and in most foods tested the rations of combined to total sulphites were not less than 65%. We conclude that both the MR and GLC methods are valid for the separate determination of free and combined sulphites in most foods, and these two methods will be preferred for routine analysis because of their simplicity and speed.