β-Carotene and β-apo-8'-carotenal contents in processed foods in Korea.

A robust and rapid HPLC method for β-carotene and β-apo-8'-carotenal analyses in various processed foods was developed. The analysis method was validated for low-fat, moderate-fat, and high-fat food matrices. The two carotenoids were identified by LC-MS/MS. The detection limits for β-carotene and β-apo-8'-carotenal in the three food matrices were 0.08-0.27 µg/g and 0.09-0.18 µg/g, respectively. The inter- and intra-day accuracy and precision were in accordance with the Codex guidelines. The validated method was applied to 57 processed food samples, possibly containing β-carotene and β-apo-8'-carotenal, obtained in Korea. The detected β-carotene and β-apo-8'-carotenal levels in the samples ranged from not detected (ND) to 6.92 µg/g and ND to 1.63 µg/g, respectively. Chocolate and cheese samples had the highest β-carotene and β-apo-8'-carotenal levels, respectively. Notably, several samples with no labeled carotenoid additives contained β-carotene. Moreover, the developed analytical method was compatible with various processed food matrices. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10068-023-01285-2.