Determination of sorbic and benzoic acids as preservatives in some milk products by HPLC

ANSTRACTT he aim of this study to determine sorbic and benzoic organic acids as preservatives in some dairy products.Therefore, 120 dairy product samples of feta cheese, processed cheese, milk powder and butter (30 for each) were collected from supermarkets and examined for the presence of sorbic and benzoic acids using high performance liquid chromatography.The results revealed that sorbic acid concentration in feta cheese samples ranged from 211.2 to 1330.4 ppm with mean values 631.42 ± 50.44.Of the toal, 3 samples (10%) were exceeding the permissible limits of NFSA decree 4/2020 and codex standard 192/2019 (1000 ppm).In addition, sorbic acid detected in the examined processed cheese samples with concentration ranged from 599.65 to 2884.43 ppm with mean value 1105.43 ± 92.75, and all positive samples were within the permissible limit set by NFSA decree 4/2020 and codex standard 192/2019(3000 ppm).While, sorbic acid is not detected in any milk powder and butter samples.On the other hand, benzoic acid was not detected in all examined samples.Because of the wellestablished hazardous consequences of these compounds by public health agencies, the findings underline the significance of more stringent monitoring of these preservatives INTRODUCTION:The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) defines a preservative as any substance added to food to prevent or delay the loss of nutrients due to microbial, enzymatic or chemical changes in the food as part of extending the shelf life of the product so that, the milk remains sound and of hight nutritional value.Chemical preservatives, such as benzoic or sorbic acid or its salts are used in dairy products to inhibit the growth of yeast and mold and to effectively combat a variety of bacteria during storage (Kucukcetin et al. 2008).Sorbic acid, a linear unsaturated fatty acid with a molecular weight of 112.13 g/mol and a molecular formula (C5H7COOH), is common-