Dehydroacetic acid in cheese and cheese coating, results of official control in Italy

Abstract

This paper reports the occurrence of dehydroacetic acid in cheese and cheese coatings collected in Italy during Agricultural Ministry Official control. Dehydroacetic acid is an antimicrobial substance not allowed to be used in EU countries as a food additive, with unknown effects on human health. Dehydroacetic acid was measured by a validated HPLC method according to Commission Decision 2002/657/EC criteria in terms of specificity, linearity, precision and accuracy, limit of detection, and limit of quantification. The method was successfully applied to 129 samples of commercial cheese coatings and related treated cheeses collected in Italy during 2017. The overall results demonstrated that about 40% of the investigated cheese coatings contained dehydroacetic acid, ranging from 0.010% to 2.5% w/w, evidencing illicit employment of this substance. Moreover, about 25% of treated cheeses contained dehydroacetic acid, from 5 to 250 mg/Kg, proving transfer of this substance from crust to cheese.