Chapter 11 - Residues of harmful chemicals and their detection techniques

Abstract

There is a wide range of chemicals that may be present in meat as residues either during processing or during cooking and household management. Analytical technologies are constantly being developed and improved, allowing the correct detection and determination of such compounds and contributing to a better meat safety. Some toxic compounds that may be present in meat or meat products are N-nitrosamines as a consequence of nitrite use, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons generated from smoking, oxidation of lipids and proteins, and, finally, other substances resulting from the raw materials used in animal production like veterinary drug residues or environmental contaminants. All these are harmful compounds and the available detection analyses are described in this chapter.