The determination of polysorbate 60 in foods

Abstract

Analytical methods have been developed for the determination of polysorbate 60 (Tween 60, Atlas Chemical Industries, Inc.) in several food products including baked bread and cake, cake mix, yeastraised doughnuts, shortening, foam-mat dried tomato paste and citrus fruit juices, dressings for salad, and potato flakes. Most of the methods involve extraction of the polysorbate 60 from the sample with a suitable solvent. In all cases the polysorbate polyol moiety is recovered, desalted by ion exchange and measured gravimetrically as the barium phosphomolybdate complex. The polysorbate 60 content of the sample is calculated using a gravimetric factor obtained by subjecting known amounts of polysorbate 60 to the same analytical procedure. Each method is designed to eliminate interferences from other constituents of the food so that blank samples are unnecessary.