Detection of fats with dyes

Principle
Fats can be coloured intensively red with Sudan III solution. Paprika powder contains capsanthin, a pigment which dissolves preferentially in fats and colours them orange-red. Foods are coloured with fat-soluble dyes. Fat-soluble dyes can detect even small amounts of fat. In this experiment the students are introduced to food dyes. The sensitivity to light
of the carotenoids can be demonstrated by allowing paprika powder to stand in sunlight.

Learning objectives

•  Some dyes can be used for detection of fat

Benefits

• Easy teaching and efficient learning by using interactive experimentation PHYWE-Software
• Experiment is part of a complete solution set with experiments for the topic Food Chemistry matched with international curriculum: all topics are covered