Naslov
Investigation into the nitrate and nitrite content in Croatian industrial meat products

Autori
Pleadin, Jelka ; Kovačević, Dragan ; Vulić, Ana

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, sažetak, znanstveni

Izvornik
Book of abstracts - 3rd North and East European NEEFOOD Congress on Food / Gaceu, L. - Brasov : Transilvania Univeristy Press, 2015

Skup
3rd North and East European NEEFOOD Congress on Food

Mjesto i datum
Brašov, Rumunjska, 20.05.2015. - 23.05.2015

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
Nitrite; Nitrate; Meat products; Maximum permitted levels; Croatian meat production plants

Sažetak
Nitrates and/or nitrites are widely used as additives in the meat products’ manufacturing, so as to obtain their specific sensory properties, stability and safety ; in the process, the growth of Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium botulinum spores gets to be inhibited, as well. However, traditional nitrate & nitrite use in the meat industry is being questioned due to their involvement into the formation of nitrosamine, shown to have carcinogenic properties. On top of that, meat products are being recognized as important sources of microorganisms frequently causing human food-borne diseases. In this study, residual sodium nitrate and nitrite levels were determined in marketed meat products throughout a four-year period (2011- 2014) using enzymatic spectrophotometric methods, so as to estimate their safety and gain insight into the differences in nitrate/nitrite levels in products coming from various meat production plants. In total, 448 samples of dry, thermally processed sausages (n=410) and semi-dry and dry-cured meat products (n=38) produced by different Croatian meat production plants were sampled. The average sodium nitrate content determined in dry-fermented sausages and dry-cured meat products was 130±72 mg/kg and 64±43 mg/kg, respectively. Sodium nitrite content increased in the following manner: 7±4 mg/kg (dry-fermented sausages), 24±16 mg/kg (semi-dry meat products), 37±23 mg/kg (dry-cured meat products) and 42±21 mg/kg (semi-dry sausages), so that significant differences (p < 0.05) per product groups and production plants were demonstrated. When compared against the maximum permitted levels (MPLs), nitrite and nitrate levels were higher in two semi-dry sausage (109 mg/kg and 115 mg/kg, respectively) and one dry-fermented sausage sample (315 mg/kg). The study results impose the need for a continuous control of residual nitrate/nitrite levels in final products placed on the market, elucidation of conditions favouring nitrosamine formation and identification of technological procedures capable of reducing the use of these additives in the meat industry.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Biotehnologija, Prehrambena tehnologija

POVEZANOST RADA