Tartrazine Exposure Assessment by Using Food Frequency Method in North Jakarta, Indonesia

Stipulating maximum level of food additives in food should be conducted to anticipate excessive usage, guarantee food safety, and as reference in food inspection. However, to support adequate stipulating, information about food aditives exposure assessment must available. In fact, this information is stills very few in Indonesia. Tartrazine is one of food additives that most frequently used in food product. The objective of this research was to conduct the exposure assessment of tartrazine from food products which have enlisted in National Agency for Drug and Food Control (NADFC) of Indonesia by using food frequency method with respondent from North Jakarta. The steps of research were survey preparation, food consumption survey from 150 respondents representing groups of children, adolescents, and adults, data processing, and data analysis. The result showed that mean value of food consumption containing tartrazine by all respondents was 306.38 g/person/day. The highest mean of consumption in total population groups was by children due to higher food consumption frequency and portion. The five highest food containing tartrazine which were consumed by all respondents were instant noodles, powder concentrate for beverages, non-carbonated beverages, carbonated beverages, and biscuits. All exposure assessment in this research did not exceed the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) for tartrazine. The mean value of exposure by all respondents was 231.24 μg/kg BW (3.08% ADI). The highest mean value of exposure in total population groups was by children due to their higher food consumption and lower body weight. The major contributing foods to tartrazine exposure were instant noodles, non-carbonated beverages, powder concentrate for beverages, biscuits, and snacks. Instant noodles had the highest mean value of consumption and tartrazine exposure for all respondents in North Jakarta. Respondent which had the highest mean value of consumption and tartrazine exposure was by children. Snacks were relative low consumed but high tartrazine exposure.

Pasting Properties of White Corn Flours of <i>Anoman</i>1 and <i>Pulut Harapan</i>Varieties as Affected by Fementation Process

This research was aimed to evaluate the pasting properties of white corn flour made from Anoman 1 and Pulut Harapan varieties as affected by the fermentation process of the corn grits. The fermentation process studied were 1) spontaneous fermentation (SF);2) fermentation with the addition of a complete starter culture at 0 hour (CC fermentation) and 3) fermentation of (CC) with additional inoculation of starter culture containing amylolytic microorganisms at 16 hours (AC fermentation). The evaluation of pasting properties was done on the flour made from corn grits fermented for 0, 36, 48, and 72 hours. Our results showed that pasting properties of corn flour of Anoman 1 and Pulut Harapan varieties were affected by fermentation process. Addition of starter culture in the fermentation showed more complex effect on the pasting properties and was a function of the fermentation time. Fermentation process of corn grits affected the pasting properties of the resulted flour, both for Anoman I and Pulut Harapan corn varieties. The differences in the effect of fermentation process on the pasting properties were due to the different amylose/amylopectin content. AC fermentation of corn grits could increase the stability of paste for flour containing higher amylose content but decrease the stability of paste for flour containing high amylopectin. Specifically, CC fermentation caused significant increase in the peak viscosity value especially for corn flour of Pulut Harapan. Fermentation for up to 48 h had resulted in corn flour of Pulut Harapan variety having a higher PV value, but it did not affect the tendency to retrograde.