Vitamin C in Infant Formula and Adult/Pediatric Nutritional Formula by Liquid Chromatography with UV Detection:...

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Food Science
• Nutritional Analysis

Background:

• Accurate vitamin C measurement is crucial for infant formula and nutritional products.
• AOAC INTERNATIONAL Method 2012.22 is a liquid chromatography-UV detection technique for vitamin C analysis.
• Validation through collaborative studies ensures method reliability and reproducibility.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the repeatability and reproducibility of AOAC INTERNATIONAL First Action Method 2012.22.
• To assess the method's performance against established Standard Method Performance Requirements (SMPR®) 2012.012.
• To recommend the method for Final Action status based on collaborative study results.

Main Methods:

• A collaborative study involving multiple laboratories was conducted in three parts.
• Participants qualified by analyzing practice samples before analyzing 10 blind duplicate samples.
• Method performance was evaluated against SMPR® 2012.012 criteria, including precision and Horwitz ratio.

Main Results:

• Repeatability and reproducibility values were within the SMPR® requirements (1.4-7.3% and 3.2-11.4%, respectively).
• Horwitz ratio values ranged from 0.5 to 1.7, indicating acceptable performance.
• The method successfully quantified vitamin C in infant formula and nutritional products, even with potential sample spoilage.

Conclusions:

• The AOAC INTERNATIONAL First Action Method 2012.22 meets the performance requirements for vitamin C analysis in infant and adult nutritional formulas.
• The collaborative study data supports the recommendation of granting the method Final Action status.
• The validated method provides reliable and reproducible results for nutritional product analysis.