McNeal T P, Nyman P J, Diachenko G W, Hollifield H C
U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Division of Food and Chemical Technology, Washington, DC 20204.
J AOAC Int. 1993 Nov-Dec;76(6):1213-9.
Recently, the combination of sodium or potassium benzoate with ascorbic acid was shown to produce low levels (ng/g) of benzene in fruit-flavored soft drinks. The presence of benzene also was reported in butter, eggs, meat, and certain fruits; levels of these findings ranged from 0.5 ng/g in butter to 500-1900 ng/g in eggs. Because benzoates are widely used as food preservatives, a limited survey of other foods containing added benzoate salts was conducted to investigate the potential for benzene formation. Selected foods that did not contain added benzoates but were previously reported to contain benzene were analyzed for comparison. More than 50 foods were analyzed by purge-and-trap or static headspace concentration and capillary gas chromatography. Benzene was quantitated by using the method of standard additions, and its identity was confirmed by mass selective detection. Results of this limited survey show that foods without added benzoates (including eggs) contained benzene at levels equal to or less than 2 ng/g. Slightly higher levels were present in some foods and beverages containing both ascorbic acid and sodium benzoate.
最近，研究表明，苯甲酸钠或苯甲酸钾与抗坏血酸混合后，会在果味软饮料中产生低含量（纳克/克）的苯。黄油、鸡蛋、肉类和某些水果中也被报道含有苯；这些研究结果中的含量范围从黄油中的0.5纳克/克到鸡蛋中的500 - 1900纳克/克。由于苯甲酸盐被广泛用作食品防腐剂，因此开展了一项对其他添加苯甲酸盐的食品的有限调查，以研究形成苯的可能性。对先前报道含有苯但未添加苯甲酸盐的选定食品进行了分析以作比较。通过吹扫捕集或静态顶空浓缩以及毛细管气相色谱法对50多种食品进行了分析。采用标准加入法对苯进行定量，并通过质量选择检测确认其身份。这项有限调查的结果表明，未添加苯甲酸盐的食品（包括鸡蛋）中苯的含量等于或低于2纳克/克。一些同时含有抗坏血酸和苯甲酸钠的食品和饮料中苯的含量略高。
