Abstract
Alcohol-free beer is increasingly marketed with the claim “isotonic”. According to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), isotonic beverages should have an osmolality in a range of 270–330 mOsmol/kg. A method to determine osmolality in beer using an automatic cryoscope was applied and validated in this study. Isotonic and hypotonic beers can be measured directly, while hypertonic beers have to be diluted into the linear range of the instrument. As proven in several different beer matrices, the assay was linear with an average correlation coefficient of 0.998. The limits of detection and quantitation were 2 and 10 mOsmol/kg, so that the sensitivity of the method was judged sufficient to control the isotonic range. The measurement uncertainty expressed as coefficient of variation was less than 1% interday. The applicability of the method was proven by measurement of 86 beer samples. Our study has shown that the cryoscopic method is fit for the purpose to validate claims of isotonicity in food control.
Highlights
Isotonic sports beverages are available on the market aimed at restoring the strength of people conducting strong physical exercise [1,2]
It should be noted that the measurement of normal and strong beers is not relevant for the question of labeling, because alcohol-containing beers may not be labeled as “isotonic” according to regulation 1924/2006/EC
Our results confirm previous literature regarding the tonicity of beer types, e.g., that standard beers are in the hypertonic range above mOsmol/kg [3,12,13,29]
Summary
Isotonic sports beverages are available on the market aimed at restoring the strength of people conducting strong physical exercise [1,2]. Consumers were found to have an increasing interest in the relationship between nutrition and health, and recent legislative efforts in Europe, such as the health claims regulation 1924/2006/EC or the food information legislation 1169/2011/EC, have strengthened the demands for appropriate labeling and scientific confirmation of labeling and marketing claims in this area [11]. For all these reasons, food control institutions need an analytical method to validate the nutritional claim “isotonic”, most preferably in a rapid, easy and cheap fashion. We applied and validated the freezing point methodology to confirm the claims of isotonicity in a collective of beer samples from the German market
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
