Question

As per Food Safety and Standards (Food Product Standards and Additives Regulations, 2011), the RP-HPLC method shall be used for checking for the presence of ____ in ghee.

• A. Campesterol
• B. Beta-sitosterol
• C. Stigmasterol
• D. Brassicasterol

Hint:

Beta-sitosterol is the primary plant sterol (phytosterol) used as a marker to detect vegetable fat adulteration in dairy products. Since animal fats contain only cholesterol, detecting any phytosterol indicates adulteration.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Ghee (anhydrous milk fat) is a high-value dairy product susceptible to adulteration with cheaper vegetable oils and hydrogenated fats.
Vegetable fats contain phytosterols (plant sterols), which are absent in pure animal fats like ghee.
Detecting these marker phytosterols is a reliable method to confirm the adulteration of ghee with plant fats.

Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Let us examine the phytosterol markers:
- \(\beta\)-sitosterol (beta-sitosterol) is the most abundant phytosterol present in vegetable oils.
- Because pure ghee contains only cholesterol and lacks plant sterols, the presence of even trace amounts of \(\beta\)-sitosterol confirms adulteration with vegetable fats.
- Under FSSAI regulations, Reversed-Phase High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (RP-HPLC) or Gas Chromatography (GC) is used to detect \(\beta\)-sitosterol in ghee.
- The extraction of sterols followed by RP-HPLC separation allows for the isolation and quantification of the \(\beta\)-sitosterol peak, providing a sensitive test for adulteration.
Therefore, \(\beta\)-sitosterol is the designated compound checked using the RP-HPLC method.

Step 3: Final Answer:
The RP-HPLC method is used to check for the presence of beta-sitosterol in ghee.