Roasting is an important process in cocoa production which may lead to formation of non-desirable compounds such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Therefore, PAH4 (sum of four different polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; benz[a]anthracene, chrysene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, and benzo[a]pyrene) in roasted cocoa beans was determined using a modified method (combination of QuEChERS and DLLME), and quantified by HPLC-FLD. The modified method was validated and met the performance criteria required by the EU Regulation (No. 836/2011). Results show a significant (p
Addition of phytosterols and antioxidants to food may provide additional health benefits to consumers. Their stability in a food matrix may decrease during storage. Therefore, the objectives of this study are to formulate a salad dressing with cocoa butter and determine its phytosterol stability, antioxidant activity and physicochemical properties during storage. The cocoa butter was extracted using a supercritical CO2 extraction (green technology) and added to the formulated salad dressing (containing different ratios of cocoa butter and soybean oil). The salad dressing with 30% cocoa butter (the most stable emulsion) was selected for storage study at 4 and 30 °C. However, values of physicochemical parameters and mass fractions of phytosterols, total phenolic compounds (determined using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) in the salad dressing with 30% cocoa butter decreased during storage (from day 0 to 28) and increased with the temperature increase, probably due to the oxidation of oil. Thus, the most desirable storage temperature for salad dressing was 4 °C. An excellent stability of the salad dressing with 30% cocoa butter at different storage temperatures for 28 days offers a potential application in food industries for production of salad dressing with cocoa butter enriched with phytosterols.