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Monosodium glutamate is a food additive that gives sweetness, sourness, bitterness, and saltiness tastes together. In the present study, a simple and accurate high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet spectrophotometer detector method was developed for the determination of monosodium glutamate in both dried and moist food samples. This method was carried out on different eleven food samples including potato chips, soups, and vegetable concentrates from the local market in Jordan. The approach was based on the derivatization step of MSG with 1-fluoro-2,4-dinitrobenzene. A good chromatographic separation is obtained by using a 5-micro meter particle size octadecyl column and one-to-one methanol: water mixture as mobile phase. The results in the calibration curve were linear with a correlation coefficient R2 was 0.9533. The tested food samples contained various MSG contents (the highest content was in the Mexicana chips sample 353 ± 7 ppm). The contents of monosodium glutamate in most investigated food samples were between 170 and 350 ppm. These contents are allowed according to the general standards of the codex Alimentarius Commission for food additives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy drinks (EDs) are beverages that are devoid of alcohol containing high amounts of caffeine and sugar. Energy drinks are available in the Jordanian market and consumed by Jordanian youth. There is no Jordanian standard for EDs. Establishing a standardization for a certain contaminant requires assessing the heavy metal content in the EDs available in the market. This research aimed to screen the 10 most consumed energy drinks sold in the Jordan market for total soluble solids, caffeine contents, and the presence of some heavy metals. This study, thus, will serve as an initial step for setting a standard for heavy metals in EDs in Jordan. The analyzed EDs didn't contain detectable amounts of Pb. On the other hand, the analyzed samples contained 0.1 to 2.8, 1.8 to 6.5, 0.01, and 0.2 to 3.5 mg kg-1 Cu, Ni, Cd, and Fe respectively. The total soluble solids content of the studied samples ranged between 4.8 to 15.4 g/100 g. On the other hand, the caffeine content of the analyzed samples ranged between 24.7 to 32 mg/100 mL. It is recommended to establish a Jordanian standards specification for energy drinks including heavy metal, total dissolved solids, and caffeine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]