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Published on: March 17, 2015
[Honey adulteration detection using liquid chromatography/ elemental analysis-isotope ratio mass spectrometry]
Xiaoqing Fei1, Bin Wu, Chongyu Sehn
1Laboratory of Food, Jiangsu Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, Nanjing 210001, China. dii01208@163.com
Abstract:
A new method for honey adulteration detection using liquid chromatography/elemental analysis-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (LC/EA-IRMS) was developed. Based on the individual delta13C values detected for 38 authentic honey samples, the limits for the authentic honey samples were proposed: the delta13C difference between protein and honey (Deltadelta13C(P-H)) should be higher or equal to than -0.95 per thousand, the delta13C difference between fructose and glucose (Deltadelta13C(F-G)) should be from -0.64 per thousand to 0.53 per thousand, and the maximum difference of delta13C values between all the components (Deltadelta13Cmax) should be lower than 2.09 per thousand. Based on the above criteria, the 58 positive samples spiked with C4 or C3 plant sugar syrup were confirmed by LC/EA-IRMS method from 150 commercial honey samples, while only 7 samples spiked with C4 plant sugar syrup were confirmed by the official EA-IRMS method. The proposed method represents a significant improvement in comparing with the official EA-IRMS method.
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