Flow injection analysis of nitrate and nitrite in commercial baby foods

Abstract

Commercial baby foods are an easy alternative to home-made meals especially for working parents in a nuclear family therefore it is imperative to determine the nitrate and nitrite content in commercially available baby foods varieties marketed in Fiji. A total of 108 baby food samples were analyzed for nitrate and nitrite using our standardized flow injection analysis (FIA) technique with colorimetric detection technique employing sulfanilamide and N-(1-naphthyl)ethylenediamine dihydrochloride as color reagents where the samples throughput was 38h−1. The commercial baby food varieties chosen comprised of vegetables, cereals, fruits and milk. The study shows that the nitrate content of the baby foods studied ranges from 2.10 to 220.67mgkg−1 whereas the nitrite content ranges from 0.44 to 3.67mgkg−1. Typical recoveries of spiked nitrate residues ranged from 92% to 106%. The study shows that the average nitrate content of commercially available baby foods in Fiji descends below the maximum level proposed by the European Union Legislation.