METAL CONTENTS IN SOME OF THE PROCESSED FOODS AND THEIR EFFECT ON THESTORAGE STABILITY OF PRECOOKED DEHYDRATED FLAKED BENGALGRAM-DHAL

Mineral composition of some convenience food products like pre-cooked, and dehydrated vegetable pulav, instant halwa mix, instant upma mix, preserved chapati, spiced potato chapati, instant spiced dhals, alu ch holay, rice noodles, chikki and canned curried meat has been investiga ted. The levels of sodium, potassium, calcium, iron, zinc, manganese, and copper were found to vary between 42-26,000, 130-6710,17.4-725, 39 -170, 6.7-36.6, 1.8-19.2 and 1.6-17.0 ppm, respectively, in these proc essed foods. In commercially procured, and stored canned curried meat, tin, copper and zinc were found to vary between 60-152, 1.2-12.4, and 15.3-38.8 ppm, respectively. The levels of nickel, iron and copper we re found to vary between 0.40-8.70, 0.80-8.20 and 0.015-0.025 ppm, res pectively, in different commercial brands of vanaspati, whereas nickel content was found to vary from 1.10-2.10 ppm in different commercial brands of chocolates. In dehydrated flaked dhal sodium chloride exhibi ted slight pro-oxygenic activity, but copper, iron and cobalt exhibite d strong pro-oxygenic activity. Only at 500 ppm level, nickel exhibite d marginal antioxygenic activity.