Control of disinfection by-products in canned vegetables caused by water used in their processing

ABSTRACT

Canned vegetables come into contact with sanitizers and/or treated water in industry during several steps (namely washing, sanitising, blanching and filling with sauces or brine solutions) and therefore they can contain disinfection by-products – DBPs). This study focused on the occurrence of trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs) in a wide variety of canned vegetables (75 samples). For each vegetable, the edible solid and liquid phases of the package were separated and analysed individually. DBPs can be present in both solid (up to eight species) and liquid (up to 11 species) phases, their levels being higher in liquid ones. Volatile THMs predominate in the edible solid phase (up to four species), while HAAs do so in the liquid phase (up to five species) according to their ionic and non-volatile nature. The lowest concentrations of DBPs were found in tomatoes because they were often preserved in their own juice, without water.

KEYWORDS:

• Canned vegetables
• trihalomethanes
• haloacetic acids
• disinfection by-products
• gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was subsidised by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness [grant number CTQ2013-42701]. FEDER also provided additional funding. M. J. C. is grateful for the postdoctoral contract from Project CTQ2013-42701.