Abstract
Solvent residue such as hexane in foodstuff, especially edible oil could be considered as the undesirable substances when exceeds maximum residue limit (MRL). The aim of this study is to determine the hexane content in various brands of edible oils. Totally forty samples (23 brands) of different types of vegetable oils including frying oils (n=14), blended oils (n=13), sunflower oils (n=6), corn oils (n=5) and canola oils (n=2) from Iran´s market were analyzed for hexane content using solid phase microextraction gas chromatography equipped with a flame-ionization detector (SPME)-GC-(FID). The hexane residue was detected in thirty-six out of forty examined samples, ranged from lower than LOD to 42.6 µg/kg. However, in all of them hexane content were below the MRL of 1 mg/kg which set by the European Union.
Highlights
Edible oils and fats can be produced either by solvent or mechanical extraction of oilseeds
The results showed that 35% of the samples had hexane residue ranging from 5-42.6 μg/kg, while 10% of the samples were free of hexane and any hexane residue was detected in these 4 samples
Commercial orujo oil samples with various percentages of virgin olive oil (5–10%) were analyzed by Peña et al (2003) for the presence of residual hexane and the results showed that almost all the samples were negative in term of hexane residue and just two samples had hexane at concentration of 2 and 3 mg/kg [3]
Summary
Edible oils and fats can be produced either by solvent or mechanical extraction of oilseeds. Long or acute exposure to haxane might cause several human health implications such as polyneuropathy, muscular weakness, headache, dizziness, giddiness, slight nausea [3, 4]. It has been reported by O’Quinn et al (1997) that hexane may cause some degeneration of the digestive system of animals [5]. Hexane residue has been found toxic to humans and animals at relatively low concentrations as mentioned by Sparks et al (2006) [6]. Several studies estimated hexane residue in vegetable oil [9], beeswax [10], annatto extracts [11] using headspace gas chromatography (GC)
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