[Preservative Content] In Bakery Products Has Large Fluctuations In Detection, Why?

With the strengthening of food safety supervision, preservatives are mandatory inspection items every time. Baked products are mainly potassium sorbate, calcium propionate, and sodium dehydroacetate, which are mandatory inspection items. Other preservatives such as sodium benzoate and natamycin Su, etc. also conduct random inspections from time to time. But recently, many food companies have discovered that the test results of preservatives often have errors: for example, comparison of self-inspection and test agency data, or large deviations in results between different test agencies. Why is this?

1. The preservatives are not fully mixed in the product, resulting in uneven distribution

In the production process, due to the small amount of preservatives added, the difference in addition time or operation methods, the preservatives are not fully mixed in the product system, which affects the accuracy of the monitoring results. It is recommended that food manufacturers give full consideration to uniform distribution when adding preservatives. For example, when producing cakes and fillings, they can first use other raw materials: a part of white sugar and preservatives are pre-mixed and diluted, and then added to the product to improve its Uniformity.

2. The loss of preservatives during the baking process leads to deviations in the inspection results

Because baked products are baked at high temperature, the preservatives inevitably evaporate during the baking process. This is greatly different from the baking temperature, the length of the baking time, and the position of the product in the baking tray. Causes: 1. The content of preservatives in the same batch of products is deviated; 2. The content of preservatives in different batches of products is deviated; 3. The same amount of preservatives is added, but preservatives exist in different products deviation. Therefore, the technicians should fully consider these factors before submitting for inspection, consciously mark the baking status of the submitted samples, and can provide guidance on the stability of the production process based on the test results.

3. The formula factors of the product itself may lead to differences in extraction rate and lead to detection errors

The emulsification system and PH system in the formula will cause the preservatives to exist in both water and oil media. Taking sodium dehydroacetate as an example, when using n-hexane extraction, part of the sodium dehydroacetate and oily substances in the sample will be extracted and discarded, resulting in low or different detection results.