Determination of Formaldehyde and Methanol Contents in Canned Food and Drinks Samples: Application of Headspace Gas Chromatography and Industrial Reliance

This study presents a headspace gas chromatographic (HS-GC) method for the simultaneous determination of formaldehyde and methanol in canned food and drinks samples, such as pickle, fresh meat or stored fruit juices etc. The method was based on the reaction between formaldehyde and sodium borohydride in a concentrated potassium carbonate solution, in which formaldehyde was quantitatively converted to methanol and determined by HS-GC. By measuring the methanol content in the sample before and after the reaction with borohydride, both methanol and formaldehyde contents can be determined. By spiking a given amount of isopropanol in the tested sample solution, the uncertainty in above two separate measurements by HS-GC can be significantly reduced when using isopropanol signal as a reference in the internal standard calibration. Results showed that the present method had a good accuracy (with a recovery ranging from 94 – 103 %). The limit of quantification (LOQ) of the method is 0.835 mmol/kg. This method is straightforward, reliable, and suitable for the high-throughput monitoring of these common water pollutants, offering a valuable tool for environmental quality control and pollution assessment.