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A Static Headspace GC–MS Method for the Determination of Ethanol in Solid or Semi-solid Consumer Goods

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Abstract

The method described herein can be used to determine the ethanol content in a variety of solid or semi-solid consumer goods (e.g., cakes, ice creams, sauces, powders) and can also be used for low-alcohol liquid products. It is based on mechanical homogenization and/or aqueous dilution of a product followed by static headspace analysis using gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (HS-GC–MS). A stable isotope internal standard in conjunction with an external standard calibration curve ensures that the method is both accurate and relatively insensitive to matrix effects. The linear range for the method covers 0.1 to 2% v/v (ABV) with a coefficient of determination (r2) ≥ 0.998. The limits of detection and quantitation are 0.003% v/v and 0.009% v/v, respectively. Reproducibility was < 4% RSD for each of two laboratory control samples. The average spike recovery across a variety of sample matrixes was 102 ± 10%, and a comparison with distillation followed by densitometry showed no statistical difference.

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Abbreviations

ABV:

Percent alcohol by volume

HS-GC–MS:

Static headspace GC–MS

HS-SPME:

Headspace solid-phase microextraction

LCS:

Laboratory control sample

LOD:

Limit of detection

LOQ:

Limit of quantitation

TTB:

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau

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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Ryan Sours. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Ryan Sours and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Ryan E. Sours.

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Conflicts of Interest

Ryan E Sours declares that he has no conflict of interest. Dawit Z Bezabeh declares that he has no conflict of interest.

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Any mention of certain commercial equipment, materials, or methodologies in this paper is intended to adequately specify the experimental conditions and procedures. Such identification does not imply a recommendation or endorsement.

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Sours, R.E., Bezabeh, D.Z. A Static Headspace GC–MS Method for the Determination of Ethanol in Solid or Semi-solid Consumer Goods. Food Anal. Methods 14, 2569–2575 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12161-021-02090-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12161-021-02090-5

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