A comprehensive study of the presence of some food additives in non-alcoholic beverages in Republic of Macedonia from the period 2008-2012.

Food additives are substances added to food to preserve flavour or enhance its taste and appearance. The most abundant additives used in production of refreshing-non alcoholic beverages (soft drinks) are: potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate caffeine, some artificial food colourings, artificial sweeteners etc. Different medical studies have shown that the usage of additives have various impact on human’s health. In the current study, the presence of: preservatives (potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate), caffeine, quinine chloride, synthetic food colorants, artificial sweeteners (saccharin, acesulfame potassium, sodium cyclamate and aspartame), citric acid, phosphoric acid and ascorbic acid were characterized by high performance liquid chromatography and ion chromatography. For that purpose, 872 samples of soft drinks (carbonated mineralised and water based flavoured drinks), which were imported (751) and produced (121) in the Republic of Macedonia, from the period from 2008 to 2012 were analyzed. The obtained results showed different distribution of food additives in the imported soft drinks and soft drinks from the domestic producers. The most prominent additives in the imported soft drinks were found to be preservatives potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate, which were present in 80% of tested samples. Synthetic colorants were present in 8% of tested the samples, caffeine in 7% , artificial sweeteners in 2%, quinine chloride in 1% and citric, ascorbic and phosphoric acid in 2% of tested soft drinks. In domestic brands, preservatives were found in 54% of tested samples, artificial sweeteners in 34%, and synthetic colorants in 85.7%. The concentrations of caffeine, quinine chloride, citric acid, phosphoric and ascorbic acid in domestic brands of soft drinks were found to be similar to those found in imported samples. The results have been discussed with respect to the related regulations. Soft drinks take an important part in the total daily intake of food additives. Therefore, the constant monitoring of their presence in non alcoholic beverages is needed to ensure compliance with food safety regulations as well as for calculating risk assessment. Key words: additives, soft drinks, preservatives, food colorants, artificial sweeteners, high performance liquid chromatography, ion chromatography