STATIC HEADSPACE GAS-CHROMATOGRAPHY OF ACETALDEHYDE IN AQUEOUS FOODS AND POLYTHENE TEREPHTHALATE

Polythene terephthalate (PET) is frequently used as a packaging material for mineral water and other non-alcoholic beverages. PET contains detectable amounts of acetaldehyde, which is able to migrate to its packed product. An automated headspace gas chromatographic method for the determination of acetaldehyde has been developed and was used for the quantification of acetaldehyde in aqueous food products and their PET packages. A cold trap, mounted in the GC oven, between the autosampler and analytical column was introduced as a new application. The detection limit of acetaldehyde was found to be 3 ng/ml with a standard deviation of 3%. The contents of acetaldehyde found in carbonated mineral water and lemonades ranged between 11 ng/ml and 7447 ng/ml, while the contents of acetaldehyde in the PET packages ranged from 1.1 mu g/g to 3.8 mu g/g.