Low-level determination of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid in complex matrices

A method for the determination of ethylendiaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) in foodstuffs by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography (GC) is described. This method is applied to foodstuffs rich in sugars and polysaccharides for which aqueous extraction cannot be directly used in chromatographic analysis. EDTA, in its iron chelate form, is extracted with water from the defatted foodstuff. The extract is then purified by ion-exchange chromatography. At this stage of purification, the quantitative level of EDTA can be estimated by HPLC and the result can be confirmed by GC. The detection level of our samples of tinned beans was under 5 mg/kg.