Studies on the Origin of Chloroform in Vegetables

To study the origin of chloroform in vegetables, a simple and sensitive method was established using a gas chromatograph equipped with an electron capture detector. The method includes solvent trapping of chloroform, and gas chromatographic separation with a detection system. The average concentrations in vegetables, tea leaves and frozen vegetables were 30.9, 62.9 and 15.7 μ/kg, respectively. Tea leaves contained the highest amount, followed by vegetables. The former was 2 times the latter. There was no significant difference between chloroform levels in vegetables grown in tap water (chloroform : 19.7–25.0 μg/L) and those in boiled distilled water. On the other hand, there was a high correlation between the number of cultivation days and chloroform levels in vegetables grown in both tap water and boiled distilled water.