Kinetic Determination of Bromate in Bread

Bromate is used in bread making as agent of maturation, however it is classified as a potential carcinogen. A rapid, simple, precise and accurate testing method was developed to determine the level of bromate in bread; this method is based on bromate reaction with iodide ion in acidic medium to produce iodine (I2). The absorbance of iodine (I2) was measured at 352 nm. Bromate reacted with iodide during the first 3 minutes after initiation of the reaction. In the first calibration curve, the curve was linear within the range 1-10 ppm of bromate in distilled water. In the second calibration curve, the curve was linear within the range 50-300 ppm of bromate in dough. In the third calibration curve, the curve was linear within the range 50-300 ppm of bromate in bread. The proposed method has been successfully applied to the determination of bromate in commercial bread. In this study we found that the use of two grams (2 g) of potassium bromate per bag flour (60 kg) is safe. Bromate usually degrades at about 400 ˚C alone but in bread the bromate degrades at 150-200 ˚C due to the presence of other metals which serve as catalysts