A method for the determination of propionic acid and its salts in food by gas chromatography (GC) was developed. Degrease extraction and direct extraction were established for food containing oil and non-oil, respectively. In this study, the effects of different pH values on the solubility and recovery of propionic acid were investigated. The effects of purification conditions, pH values, extraction agent types, and extraction times were studied. After hydrochloric acid solution was added, the pH levels of sample solutions were all found to be less than 2. The sample solutions were degreased with 5 mL n-hexane and extracted twice with 5 mL ethyl acetate. The analytes were detected by GC. The analytes were separated on an HP-INNOWAX chromatographic column and detected by fame ionization detector (FID). The recoveries of degrease extraction were 87.5%-97.6% and relative standard deviation were 3.09%-6.86% (n=6). The recoveries of direct extraction were 90.1%-102.1% and the relative standard deviations were 3.32%-6.33% (n=6). The two methods showed good linearities in the range of 2-1000 mg/L (correlation coefficient is 0.9998). The limit of detection was 0.003 g/kg and the limit of quantification was 0.01 g/kg. The proposed method is accurate, fast, simple, easy, sensitive, and is suitable for the rapid determination of propionic acid and its salts in different food. The proposed method provides a new way for the determination of propionic acid in food.
Keywords: degrease extraction; direct extraction; food; gas chromatography (GC); pH; propionic acid.