Desenvolvimento de metodologia analítica sustentável para quantificação do corante artificial vermelho allura AC em balas alimentícias

Abstract

In Brazil, it is estimated that around 8% of children under 3 years of age have food allergies, caused by the inflammatory response after eating certain foods, especially sweets. This harmful effect may be associated with the presence of artificial colorings, such as Allura Red Ac (INS-129), which is commonly added to food candies. Therefore, industries must follow the standards established by the National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA), since excess of the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) of this dye can cause potential adverse risks, such as hypersensitivity reactions, similar to allergies, hyperactivity in children, as well as the risk of developing inflammatory diseases in the intestine, making it important to develop methods to quantify this dye in foods. Faced with this problem, the objective is to develop a sustainable analytical methodology capable of carrying out the determination and quantification of the Allura Red Ac dye in food candies, through a simple, easy-to-execute and economically accessible method, using the UV-Vis Spectrophotometry technique.. When carrying out the experimental analyses, analytical curves were obtained with standard solutions of the Allura Red Ac dye, where the relationship between the intensity of the coloring as a result of the increase in the concentration of the analyte was verified, thus obtaining a linear correlation between absorbance versus concentration, with coefficient of determination (R2) in analyzes by UV-Vis molecular absorption spectrophotometry. Quantification of three different bullets was carried out in three analytical protocols: I) the reference method of the Adolfo Lutz Institute that uses ammonia methanol; the proposed method using water as a solvent; III) the Adolfo Lutz Institute reference method with adaptations. A higher dye concentration was observed when the proposed method was used, with Confidence Level = 95%. Thus, it was possible to quantify the Red allura Ac dye in ten food candies sold in Brazil through Quimica Verde. The proposed method has the potential to be implemented as a routine method in the quality control of commercial candies.