Research of the physical and chemical properties and methods of Red rice (food colour) determination in sausage products

In Russia, in the production of meat and sausage products, the food colour, named as Red rice, is use. Red rice is obtain by the cultivation the strains of the Monascus fungus on various carbohydrate substrates, for example rice. That Red rice may contain the mycotoxin citrinin, but neither the purity of the food colour nor the safety profile are regulated. The aim of this work was to study the physical and chemical properties of Red rice and to develop method for its determination in sausage products. The experiments were carried out on model and commercial samples of sausages. The samples were analyzed using spectrophotometry and highefficiency planar and liquid chromatography. Spectrophotometric analysis revealed differences in solubility, coloring power, spectral characteristics, composition and ratio of pigments in commercial samples of Red rice. The extraction parameters of colouring substances from sausages model samples were determined. It has been established that Red rice is extracted with chloroform, acetone, ethanol and its aqueous solutions. Petroleum ether was proposed for degreasing sausages. Red rice from sausages was extracted with acetone because it did not extract synthetic colours and carminic acid. It was found, that 90% of Red rice is extracted from samples of sausages by double extraction with ultrasonic treatment with a power of 128 W. High performance thin layer chromatography method and high performance liquid chromatography method for the Red rice identification was proposed. The content of Red rice in the extracts was determined by spectrophotometric method. The developed method for the determination of Red rice was tested on commercial samples of sausage products.