Abstract:
Food colourings provide no nutrition to foods but the added food colour will improve the colour and make foods more acceptable. Now many synthetic food colourings become popular in food manufacture due to their intensive properties despite the fact that these food colourings aFt carcinogenic, geno-toxic, cause allergic reactions as well as hyperactivity in children. In this study different types of food samples available in Matara, Galle and Hambanthota districts were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively to determine the level of food colouring used. A total of 60 samples of different food stuff including boondi, jujubes, orange juices, saruwath, seenikadala, seenimurukku, coconut toffee, muscat, chewing gum were collected from local markets in Matara, Galle and Hambanthota. Food colourings were extracted from the samples using a standard method (AOAC 2005) and were studied qualitatively and quantitatively by using spectrophotometric methods. For the quantitative measurements, the calibration curves were prepared by using standard food colourings. The results of this study show that following colourings available in studied sweets are exceeding the permitted level of (100 mg food colouring/kg of food). In average Carmosine was found to be (boondi, 495 ± 15 mg: Muscat, 295 ± 20 mg). Similarly Erythrosine (Coconut toffee, 319 ± 20 mg; jujubes, 239 ± 16 mg; seeni kadala, 294 ± 20 mg), Brilliant blue and tartrazine (coconut toffee, 321.4 ± 18 mg; seenimurukku, 186 ± 18 mg; jujubes, 334 ± 18 mg), Tartrazine (coconut toffee, 138± 20 mg; jujubes, 157 ± 20 mg; seenimurukku, 186 ± 21 mg), Ponceau 4R (jujubes, 106 ± 13 mg; chewing gum, 245 ± 16 mg) Sunset yellow(coconuttoffee, 255 ± 28 mg; jujubes, 270 ± 20 mg; muscat, 260 ± 12 mg; seenimurukku, 186 ± 14 mg; chewing gum, 380 ± 19 mg) exceed the permitted limit while a few sweets and soft juices were within the permitted levels. Brilliant blue and tartrazine (Saruwath, 13.9 ± 1 mg/L), Sunset yellow (Orange juice, 9.4 mg/L), and Brilliant blue and tartrazine (muscat, 79.2 ± 16 mg/kg). Among the three areas, Hambanthota has the highest percentage (100%) of food items with exceeded food colouring limits compared to that of Matara (81.5%) and Galle (82.4%). Selling street foods has become a major income in Hambantota district due to higher expansion of tourism. Therefore, it can be concluded that huge availability of street food without standard quality assurance has primarily contributed to the substantial increase in food exceeding colour limits in the Hambantota district.
