Određivanje sadržaja nitrata i nitrita u mesnim proizvodima bez dodanih aditiva

Abstract

A food additive is any substance not consumed as a food ingredient but added to food for a specific purpose, for example inhibiting microorganism growth and maintaining sensory quality. Potassium and sodium nitrates and nitrites are among the most commonly used food additives in the meat industry due to their antimicrobial effect, in particular to prevent the growth of pathogenic bacteria Clostridium botulinum and its spores. Additionally, they provide specific sensory attributes, primarily the inherent pink color of meat products. Studies showed that excessive intake of nitrates and nitrites may pose a risk to human health. The object of this research was determination of nitrite and nitrate content in meat products without added additives or with those additives from natural sources. Samples were mortadella, cooked ham and bologna sausage as thermally proccessed (cured) meat products and fermented sausage. The statistical analysis of the results for mortadella, cooked ham and bologna sausage as thermally proccessed meat products showed a p-value <0.05 between recipes with added nitrite salt and new recipes. The values of the median mass concentration of sodium nitrite in the commercial recipes were from 3.50-40.50 mg/kg, whereas this value was below the limit of detection in new recipes. Also, for fermented sausage, the p-value below 0.05 between commercial recipe with nitrite and nitrate salt and new recipes confirmed the hypothesis for replacement of mentioned salts with new concepts. The value of the median mass concentration of sodium nitrate in the recipe with added nitrate salt was 268.52 mg/ kg, whereas this value was below the limit of detection in other recipes.