CB1.4 - Methods for the determination of vitamins
Purpose
- To underpin the Government Chemist’s capability to determine vitamins in food samples submitted under the Food Safety Act 1990.
- To develop alternative low-cost methods for referee-level determination of B-Vitamins in foods and dietary formulations.
- To avoid disputes arising from uncertainty over appropriate choice of methods used for the determination of vitamins in referee samples.
Background
There are an increasing number of products marketed in the European Community as food supplements. The ‘Food Supplements (England) Regulations 2003’ lists the vitamins and minerals that may be used in food supplements, as well as their permitted chemical forms. The legislation prohibits the sale of vitamin or mineral supplements unless these compositional requirements are met.
It is important that appropriate methods of analysis exist and are used by analysts in the determination of vitamins in food dietary formulations. This is an area where considerable analytical work has been or is being done. However, there is still a lot of uncertainty regarding which methods are the most appropriate to use.
Outputs
The project will focus on three main activites:
- The production of written guidance on suitable methods for different vitamin-matrix combinations.
- A comparative study of the various extraction techniques for the analysis of folate in foods.
- An evaluation of the suitablility of procedures used for the determination of B-vitamins in foods and dietry formulations.
Work to develop methods for the determination of vitamins in supplements has been funded by the Food Standards Agency.