Identification of Synthetic Colors in Beverage Alcohol Products by Solid-Phase Extraction and Thin-Layer Chromatography

A solid-phase extraction (SPE) sample cleanup and enrichment procedure coupled with thin-layer chromatography (TLC) is described for the enrichment of synthetic colors in all types of beverage alcohol products. SPE followed by TLC provides the identification of synthetic colors at sub-part-per-million levels. TWo complementary solvent systems afford detection of all the permitted (and some prohibited) synthetic colors in beverage alcohol products. This method is simple, offers consistency, and has no artifacts in TLC.