The use of chromic oxide as a food marker —a warning

Abstract

AbstractFour mixtures of ground barley and soya bean meal were prepared; the first had no further additive, the second had 10% soya bean oil, the third 0.05% chromic oxide and the fourth both 10% soya bean oil and 0.05% chromic oxide. Each of these mixtures was then dried in three ways: at 30°C in vacuo and at 60 and 100°C in a forceddraught oven. The total fatty acid content and the fatty acid composition of each sample was determined either by direct esterification of the fatty acids with methanolsulphuric acid or by extraction into chloroform‐methanol followed by esterification with sodium methoxide. When the mixture containing both oil and chromic oxide was heated at 100°C, about 25% of the polyunsaturated fatty acids were lost when they were directly esterified and about 50% when the fat was first extracted from the mixture. It is concluded that this loss is probably due to oxidation of the polyunsaturated fatty acids by the chromic oxide and that the additional loss observed when the extraction method was used is due to partial insolubilisation of the triglyceride by these oxidised fatty acids.