DETERMINATION OF CARBOXYMETHYLCELLULOSE IN FOOD PRODUCTS

SUMMARY –A method was developed to determine sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) in food products containing three or more hydrocolloids after prior removal of interfering substances. Papain was used to digest the proteins; calcium chloride was added to precipitate algin and pectic acid and sulfated hydrocolloids were then precipitated by cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) in the presence of 0.5M NaCl. Celite 535 or Hyflo Super Cel was added, the mixture filtered over Reeve angel No. 202 paper and the residue washed with 0.01% CPC-0.01M NaCl. The filtrate and washings were collected and diluted with distilled water to attain a final concentration of 0.2M NaCl at which concentration the CMC was precipitated selectively by CPC. The mixture was filtered over a Celite 535 or Hyflo Super Cel column and the residue washed with 0.5M Na₂SO₄ and then with 0.01% CPC-0.01M NaCl until the washings were negative to the phenol-H₂SO₄ reagent. Finally, the residue on the column was washed with hot 30% H₂SO₄ and the hydrolyzed CMC in the eluate determined by the 2,7-naphthalenediol test. Based on the amount added to mixtures, recoveries of 75–86% were obtained from milk and other highly complex and proteinaceous products, with a standard deviation of ± 0.58 mg, when 10 mg of CMC were added. The determination is critically dependent upon the degree of substitution (DS) of the CMC. As a consequence, the method cannot be applied with absolute certainty to unknown samples.