Determination of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid in foods by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

A convenient HPLC method for the quantitative determination of EDTA in foods was developed. EDTA in food samples was easily extracted with water by ultrasonication. After converting to Fe(III) complex in the presence of Fe(III) ions, EDTA was separated on a reversed-phase C30 column and detected with ultraviolet detection (260 nm). Citrate and malate, which are present in many foods, also formed Fe(III) complexes but they did not interfere the chromatographic detection of EDTA. The method allowed determination of EDTA in foods at concentrations as low as 0.01 mmol/kg. Good recoveries (95.2–101%) were obtained by the standard addition method on four samples with high repeatability (RSD, 0.8–3.4%). The method was successfully applied to the analysis of EDTA in carbonated drinks, jellies, canned beans, canned corn and food supplements.