How the inclusion of treated water in beverages influences the appearance of halogenated volatile organic compounds

Abstract

A simple, robust, and reliable headspace gas chromatography method has been developed for the determination of 14 halogenated volatile organic compounds, including iodinated trihalomethanes (THMs), at nanogram per liter levels in beverages. The main source of the presence of THMs in reconstituted fruit juices, nectars, and soft drinks is the treated water included as an ingredient; the concentration and speciation depend on the volume and disinfection process of the treated water either from the distribution network or from water directly disinfected by the food factory. Chloroform appears at concentrations below 1 μg/L in natural juices and soft drinks prepared with mineral water due to contamination from the chlorinated sanitizers usually employed in the food industry. However, the beverages manufactured with treated water contain, in addition to chloroform, brominated THMs and dichloroiodomethane (detected in beverages for the first time), which can be used as indicators of the presence of treated water.