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ARS Home » Southeast Area » New Orleans, Louisiana » Southern Regional Research Center » Commodity Utilization Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #179907
Title: THE USE OF ION CHROMATOGRAPHY PROFILES AS A SCREENING TOOL TO DIFFERENTIATE CANE WHITE SUGAR FROM BEET WHITE SUGAR

Author
item Eggleston, Gillian
item POLLACH, GUENTER - ZUCKERFORSCHUNG
item TRICHE, RONALD - SUGAR PROCESSING INSTITUT

Submitted to: Zuckerindustrie
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/30/2005
Publication Date: 8/1/2005
Citation: Eggleston, G., Pollach, G., Triche, R. 2005. The use of ion chromatography profiles as a screening tool to differentiate cane white sugar from beet white sugar. Zuckerindustrie. 130(8):611-616.

Interpretive Summary: There have been reports on the illegal intermixing of cane white sugar with beet white sugar, with the final product being sold as beet sugar alone. A method is urgently needed that is capable of distinguishing between cane and beet white sugars. An ion chromatography method has been developed to be used as a screening method to detect such adulteration. Detection of 10% cane sugar adulteration in beet sugar is possible using this method.

Technical Abstract: Recently in Europe, there have been reports of illegal sugar trading in Serbia and Montenegro, whereby the origin of white, refined sugar could not be certified. Other countries in Europe and other parts of the world have also most likely suffered from illegal intermixing of less expensive to produce cane white, refined sugar (CWS) with beet white, refined sugar (BWS). An international sugar trade method is, therefore, urgently needed that is (1) capable of distinguishing between CWS and BWS, and (2) can measure the percentage of CWS in a CWS/BWS mixture (final goal). Raffinose and theanderose have both been advocated as differential markers. However, raffinose is present in both BWS and CWS (although to a much lesser extent in CWS). Pure theanderose is currently not commercially available, and small IC-IPAD (ion chromatography with integrated pulsed amperometric detection also known as high performance anion-exchange chromatography HPAEC) peaks have been found in BWS samples where theanderose eluted in CWS samples. Low raffinose in conjunction with numerous cane marker peaks, across IC-IPAD NaOH/NaOAc 45 min profiles of ~7.0 degree Brix blind BWS/CWS samples, were successfully used to detect 20% CWS adulteration. In general, IC profiles of CWS samples had more peaks of 2 to 12 dp than BWS samples. Increasing the degree Brix levels to 10.0 allowed detection of 10% CWS adulteration. Chromatography libraries of CWS, BWS and BWS/CWS samples for direct comparisons will aid adulterant detection. Further studies using chemometric techniques are proposed to enhance adulteration detection. IC is often used in the sugar industry to monitor industrial products, and at the least, the use of IC-IPAD profiles can be used as a screening method before the further verification and quantitation with more sophisticated techniques, such as Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (IRMS), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC).