Survey of baked goods for propionic acid and propionates

One hundred and thirty samples comprising bread (64), hamburger buns (33), pittas (16), cakes (9) and Christmas puddings (8) from various retail outlets in the UK, have been analysed for the preservative propionic acid. Only one sample of bread, two samples of hamburger buns and three samples of pitta contained propionic acid in excess of 1000 mg/kg (range 1110-2625 mg/kg). The three samples of pitta exceeded 2000 mg/kg of propionic acid, which is the maximum amount permitted for these products under a recently adopted European Union directive.