Abstract: A method for the determination of 4-methylimidazole in caramel color by capillary gas chromatography was studied. The method consisted of a methylene chloride extraction of the sample, followed by concentration and GC analysis of the eluate. The GC analysis was carried out by using HP-5 capillary column(30m×0.32mm×0.25μm film)and nitrogen phosphorus detector. The linear range was 0.025～0.3mg/L and the limit of detection was 0.01mg/L. The average recoveries were 92.5%～ 99.0% and its relative standard deviations were 0.6%～1.1%. The method was simple, rapid and sensitive.

Key words: capillary gas chromatography, 4-methylimidazole, caramel color