Issue 12, 2002

A comparison of the Kjeldahl and Dumas methods for the determination of protein in foods, using data from a proficiency testing scheme

Abstract

Both the Kjeldahl and the Dumas methods for the determination of protein in foodstuffs are currently in use, but the empirical nitrogen factors used to convert the determined nitrogen content to protein content are based on the Kjeldahl method alone. Non-equivalence between the two methods could therefore result in some laboratories reporting an incorrect protein content. We report here a study using data accumulated over several years in the results of a proficiency testing scheme. On average the Dumas method provided results that were relatively higher by about 1.4% than the Kjeldahl method, but the difference between the methods depended on the type of foodstuff. The methodology of looking for bias between analytical methods is critically discussed.

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
13 Sep 2002
Accepted
16 Oct 2002
First published
30 Oct 2002

Analyst, 2002,127, 1666-1668

A comparison of the Kjeldahl and Dumas methods for the determination of protein in foods, using data from a proficiency testing scheme

M. Thompson, L. Owen, K. Wilkinson, R. Wood and A. Damant, Analyst, 2002, 127, 1666 DOI: 10.1039/B208973B

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements