Occurrence of bound 3-monochloropropan-1,2-diol content in commonly consumed foods in Hong Kong analysed by enzymatic hydrolysis and GC-MS detection

• Published in: Food additives & contaminants. Part A, Chemistry, analysis, control, exposure & risk assessment Chemistry, analysis, control, exposure & risk assessment, 2013-07, Vol.30 (7), p.1248-1254
• Main Authors: Chung, Stephen W.C, Chan, Benny T.P, Chung, H.Y, Xiao, Ying, Ho, Y.Y
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: alpha-Chlorohydrin; beef; Biological and medical sciences; biscuits; bound 3-monochloropropan-1,2-diol; butter; cheeses; Chemical compounds; Corn; cream; enzymatic hydrolysis; Enzymes; Enzymes - metabolism; extra-virgin olive oil; Food additives; Food contamination & poisoning; Food Contamination - analysis; food groups; Food industries; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry - methods; General aspects; Glycerol - analogs & derivatives; Glycerol - analysis; grapeseed oil; ham; Hong Kong; Hydrolysis; Juglans; lipids; Methods of analysis, processing and quality control, regulation, standards; nuts; occurrence; Organic chemicals; oysters; pastries; salami; seeds; snacks; soy sauce; yogurt
• ISSN: 1944-0057; 1944-0049; 1944-0057
• DOI: 10.1080/19440049.2013.800996

The aim of this study was to determine the level of bound 3-monochloropropan-1,2-diol in foodstuffs commonly consumed in Hong Kong, China, by an enzymatic hydrolysis indirect method which proved to be free from interferences. A total of 290 samples were picked up randomly from the local market and analysed. About 73% of these samples were found to contain detectable amounts of bound 3-MCPD. Amongst the 73 food items, bound 3-MCPD was not detected in 13 food items, including extra virgin olive oil, beef ball/salami, beef flank, ham/Chinese ham, nuts, seeds, soy sauce, oyster sauce, butter, yoghurt, cream, cheese and milk. For those found to contain detectable bound 3-MCPD, the content ranged up to 2500 µg kg⁻¹. The highest mean bound 3-MCPD content among the 14 food groups was in biscuits (440 [50–860] µg kg⁻¹), followed by fats and oils (390 [n.d.–2500] µg kg⁻¹), snacks (270 [9–1000] µg kg⁻¹), and Chinese pastry (270 [n.d.–1200] µg kg⁻¹). Among the samples, the highest bound 3-MCPD content was in a grape seed oil (2500 µg kg⁻¹), followed by a walnut flaky pastry (1200 µg kg⁻¹) and a grilled corn (1000 µg kg⁻¹). Basically, the results of this study agreed well with other published results in peer-reviewed journals, except for cheese, cream, ham, nuts and seeds.