Detection and Quantification of 4(5)‐Methylimidazole in Cooked Meat

4(5)‐Methylimidazole (4‐MeI) is a nitrogen‐containing heterocyclic compound found in class III and IV ammoniated caramel colors, a group of additives widely used in the food industry. A suspected carcinogen and neurotoxin and efforts are underway to limit its presence in foods. Several methods have been developed to detect and quantitate 4‐MeI in different food matrices, including roasted coffee, beer, soft drinks, and soy sauce; however, no methods are available to measure 4‐MeI in cooked meat and meat products containing lipids and high levels of interfering nitrogen compounds, such as amino acids and peptides. A rapid method using 0.1 M sodium acetate buffer (pH 5) as an extraction solvent followed by derivatization with isobutylchloroformate and gas chromatograph mass‐spectrometry was developed to quantify 4‐MeI in cooked meat products with added caramel colors containing 4‐MeI. Selected ion monitoring mode was used to monitor 4‐MeI ions fragments. In the 8 commercial meat products tested, 4‐MeI levels ranged from 0.041 to 1.015 mg/kg, with recovery of 94.76% to 103.94%. In addition, a matrix‐matched calibration performed by analyzing a spiked cooked meat sample indicated no significant difference ( P > 0.05), which means the meat matrix had no effect on the developed method. This method proved useful in analyzing 4‐MeI in meat products with added caramel color containing 4‐MeI.