Simultaneous LC Analysis of Food Dyes in Soft Drinks

Liquid chromatography with diode-array detection has been used for simultaneous analysis of eight water-soluble synthetic colorants (E102, E104, E110, E122, E124, E129, E131, and E133) in non-alcoholic beverages. The colors were separated in 15 min on a C18 reversed-phase column with a linear mobile phase gradient prepared from tetrabutylammonium hydrogen sulfate, methanol, and deionized water. The analytical characteristics of the separation were evaluated. Good linearity (r2 = 0.9988–0.9999), adequate limits of quantification, and high recovery (from 96.3 to 98.5%) were achieved. The method was used for analysis of 57 samples of soft drinks. The experimental results showed the colorants were present in 34 of the samples, and confirmed the method is sensitive, rapid, precise, and suitable for routine analysis of synthetic organic dyes.