Validation of an analytical method for the simultaneous determination of nine intense sweeteners by HPLC-ELSD : report on the final collaborative trial

A collaborative trial was conducted to validate an analytical method for the simultaneous determination of nine intense sweeteners, i.e., acesulfame-K, alitame, aspartame, cyclamic acid, dulcin, neotame, neohesperidine dihydrochalcone, saccharin and sucralose in carbonated and non-carbonated soft drinks, and canned or bottled fruits. The procedure involves an extraction of the nine sweeteners with a buffer solution, sample clean-up using solid-phase extraction cartridges followed by an HPLC-ELSD analysis. Trueness, expressed in terms of recovery rates, was demonstrated in most cases by values ranging from 90 to 108 %. High comparability of results obtained by individual testing laboratories was ensured by RSDR values <10 % for the majority of results. Moreover, HorRAT values of less than 1.1 suggested for all sweeteners and matrices tested good performance of the method.