Application of ion chromatography to the determination of inorganic anions in foodstuffs.

A review on the applications of ion chromatography (IC) to the determination of inorganic anions in foodstuffs is presented. The anions were commonly determined in food, i.e., SO3(2-), NO3- and NO2-, and to a lesser extent Cl-, Br-, I-, SO4(2-), IO3-, BrO3- and phosphate, are considered. In comparison with standard methods for the determination of anions in food products, chromatographic methods are rapid, sensitive and precise. They also have the advantage of determining several ions simultaneously. The separation may be achieved by conventional IC, by ion interaction chromatography or by ion exclusion chromatography. IC has also been applied to the determination of Br, I, N and S in foods after oxidation or combustion of samples and conversion into anionic forms.