Sugar contents analysis of retort foods

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to provide trustworthy nutritional information by analyzing sugar contents of commercial retort foods. A total of 70 retort food samples were collected, which included curry (n=21), blackbean- sauce (n=16), sauce (n=17), and meat (n=16) from markets in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do. Contents of sugars such as glucose, fructose, sucrose, maltose, and lactose were analyzed in retort foods by using a high performance liquid chromatography-refractive index detector and compared to their assigned values on nutritional information labels. Analyzed sugar contents of curries, black-bean-sauces, sauces, and meats ranged from 1.05∼4.63 g/100 g, 1.76∼5.16 g/100 g, 0.35∼25.44 g/100 g, and 1.98∼11.07 g/100 g, respectively. Sauces were found to contain the highest amounts of total sugar. These analysis values were equivalent to the reference values indicated on nutrition labels, which were 40∼119.5% for curries, 29∼118% for black-bean-sauces, 18∼118% for sauces, and 70∼119.8% for meats. Therefore, this study provides reliable analytical values for sugar contents in retort foods. © 2015, Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition. All rights reserved.