Abstract
The present study was conducted to determine the formaldehyde content in three mostly consumed fruits (mango, apple and grape) in Bangladesh. A total of 81 samples were collected from three different local markets of Dhaka city (Mohammadpur Bazaar, Mohakhali Bazaar and Gulistan Bazaar). High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) with c-18 column and UV detector at 355 nm were used to determine the formaldehyde content. The mobile phase was 50% acetonitrile with a flow rate 1ml/min. The concentration of formaldehyde in mango was from 1.86mg/100g to 11.65mg/100g in Mohammadpur Bazaar, 1.45mg/100g to 10.69mg/100g in Mohakhali Bazaar and 1.69mg/100g to 4.41mg/100g in Gulistan Bazaar. It was found that 2.28mg/100g to 7.30mg/100g, 2.33mg/100g to 11.77mg/100g & 1.42mg/100g to 5.39mg/100g formaldehyde contained in apple for Mohammadpur, Mohakhali, Gulistan Bazaar respectively. Among the selected sample, the content of formaldehyde in grape was lower than mango and apple. The amount of formaldehyde in grape was 0.93mg/100g to 4.63mg/100g, 1.92mg/100g to 3.84mg/100g & 1.42mg/100g to 4.92mg/100g for Mohammadpur, Mohakhali, Gulisthan market. The highest formaldehyde concentrations (11.77mg/100g) were detected in apple fruit, exceeding the naturally found permissible limit of 0.63 to 2.23 mg/100gm; the second highest formaldehyde concentration (11.65mg/100g) were found in mango, exceeding the permissible limit of 0.1 to 6 mg/100gm; while the grape also contains high level of formaldehyde concentration (4.92mg/100g) exceeding the permissible limits 2.24mg/100gm. It was surprisingly found that the 22.22% of mango, 85.19% of apple and 66.67% of grape contained formalin above the permissible limit. Keywords: Fruits, Formaldehyde, HPLC, Food Safety DOI: 10.7176/FSQM/96-06 Publication date: April 30 th 2020
Highlights
The ridiculous use of formalin in fruits and vegetables is a growing concern globally
Analysis of formaldehyde High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) method was applied to determine the content of formaldehyde in this experiment
The result of the study revealed that the content of formaldehyde in three different fruits in the local market of Dhaka city of Bangladesh
Summary
The ridiculous use of formalin in fruits and vegetables is a growing concern globally. It is suspected that fruits and vegetables in the market may be treated with formalin to extend their shelf life. Formaldehyde is present in many animal and plant species as a product of their normal metabolism It can be found naturally in food including fruits, vegetables, meats, marine fish and crustacean with the levels up to 300 to 400 mg/kg. A day the rampant addition of formalin to perishable food to increase their shelf life is a common feature. As a result the fruits traders used formalin to increase the shelf life of the products. Cooking of some food such as fish, meat and vegetables can lower the amount of formalin present in them but eating fruits it is necessary to know the amount of formalin as they remain in safe level
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