Detection of butter adulteration with water using differential scanning calorimetry

Abstract

The study evaluated the applicability of dif- ferential scanning calorimetry (DSC) for the detection of water content in butter. High correlation coefficients were found between the water content and the enthalpies of the ice melting/water crystallization. The correlation equations were adopted to calculate the water content for seven tested kinds of butter, and the results were compared with the values, obtained by using the reference method. The dif- ference between the water content determined by the ref- erence method and by DSC ranged between 0.2 and 2.6% for the measured enthalpy of ice melting, and between 1 and 5.6% for the enthalpy of water crystallization. In relation to the data obtained, it can be concluded that the parameter of ice melting enthalpy can be used in the identification of adulterations or confirmation of butter authenticity.