• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.145-148
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• 2015

According to the Korea Food Additives Code, sodium metasilicate is permitted for use as a filtering agent for edible oils and fats. Sodium metasilicate is currently used as a food additives to increase the weight of shark fins. In this study, we developed an analytical method to quantify sodium metasilicate in food. Sodium metasilicate content was estimated by measuring the moisture content, pH and silicon content of shark fins. Silicon content was analyzed using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) following microwave-assisted digestion with $HNO_3$ (65%) and $H_2O_2$ (30%). Shark fin total silicon content was $7.17{\pm}8.92mg/kg$, while the soluble silicon content was $2.34{\pm}3.80mg/kg$. After soaking raw shark fin in an aqueous solution of sodium metasilicate, fin weight, pH and silicon content were measured. These results would be used as the basic information for shark fins safety management.