Rapid On-site Test Method to Detect in Fortified Wheat Floor.

Abstract

A rapid, field-deployable method and associated kit for the qualitative detection of zinc fortification in wheat flour are disclosed. ፐከ6 method includes treating a wheat flour sample suspected of containing added zinc with a chromogenic reagent comprising dithizone dissolved in an ethanol solvent to induce a visually discernible color change from a blue profile to a pink-purple or red profile. The assay can be performed 85 8 surface spot test or as ል testtube liquid assay, the latter utilizing an aqueous buffer solution maintained at a pH of 5.5 to 6.0 to mobilize zinc ions. The resulting color change is evaluated against an intentionally fortified wheat flour standard. When validated against an Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) reference standard, the assay exhibits a sensitivity of 96.5%, a specificity of 90.9%, an overall misclassification rate of 5.88%, and 8 Cohen's kappa coefficient (k) of 0.88.