Simultaneous determination of nitrite and nitrate in meat and meat products using ion-exchange chromatography

Abstract

Nitrite and nitrate salts are widely used as curing agents to preserve meat and meat products. Despite the benefits of using these salts in meat processing, it has some adverse health effects. The high concentration of these salts produces nitric oxide through various metabolic reactions followed by the generation of carcinogenic nitrosamines. In this study, a chromatographic method was developed for the simultaneous determination of nitrite and nitrate level in meat and meat products. Samples were collected from four different locations in Dhaka, Bangladesh and analysed by ion-exchange chromatography. Most relevant validation parameters were evaluated using the standard validation procedure. The linearity was more than 0.995 and recoveries for nitrite and nitrate were more than 96% and 97%, respectively. The Limit of detection (LOD) for nitrite and nitrate was 0.10 and 0.26 mg/L, respectively. Results showed that the highest nitrite and nitrate content was 66.04±0.55 and 55.02±1.4 mg/kg, respectively. However, nitrite and nitrate levels were lower than the prescribed value by international guidelines. Besides, temperaturebased recovery revealed that 80°C was the optimum temperature for recovering the nitrite and nitrate from meat and meat products. This developed method applying ion-exchange chromatography can monitor the content of nitrite and nitrate in meat and meat products to ensure food safety.