Validation of an Analytical Method for Nitrite and Nitrate Determination in Meat Foods for Infants by Ion Chromatography with Conductivity Detection

Abstract

Nitrate and nitrite as sodium or potassium salts are usually added to meat products to develop the characteristic flavor, to inhibit the growth of microorganisms (particularly Clostridium botulinum), and effectively control rancidity by inhibiting lipid oxidation. However, both nitrate and nitrite ions need to be monitored for ensuring the quality and safety of cured meats. In this work, for the first time the content of nitrite and nitrate ions in homogenized meat samples of baby foods was determined by a validated method based on ion chromatography (IC) coupled with conductivity detection. Recoveries of nitrate and nitrite ions in meat samples were not lower than 84 ± 6%. The detection limits of nitrate and nitrite were 0.08 mg L−1 and 0.13 mg L−1, respectively. Five commercial samples of homogenized meat, namely lamb, rabbit, chicken, veal, and beef, for infant feeding were investigated; while nitrite content was below the detection limit, nitrate ranged from 10.7 to 21.0 mg kg−1. The results indicated that nitrate contents were below the European (EU) fixed value of 200 mg kg−1, and an acceptable daily intake of 3.7 mg kg−1 was estimated.

Estimation of the Nitrite Concentration in the Raw Milk and Locally Produced Soft Cheese in Different Area of Baghdad, Iraq

“…The nitrite standard solution was prepared using NaNO2 (purity 99.9%) powder purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (USA). Precautions were taken to avoid contamination of the samples (15).…”

“…The separation occurs on the basis of retention time in comparison to standards. Quantitation is by measurement of peak area or peak height (15).…”

A Novel Highly Sensitive Electrochemical Nitrite Sensor Based on a AuNPs/CS/Ti3C2 Nanocomposite

“…At present, some detection approaches for nitrite have been reported, such as Raman spectroscopy [ 7 ], fluorescence spectroscopy [ 8 ], chromatography [ 9 , 10 ], spectrophotometry [ 11 ], chemiluminescence [ 12 ], and electrochemical sensors [ 13 , 14 ]. Among them, the electrochemical method possesses many advantageous features of easy operation, rapid response, low cost, and online access [ 15 ].…”

Bio-Doped Microbial Nanosilica as Optosensing Biomaterial for Visual Quantitation of Nitrite in Cured Meats

“…The conventional methods of detection and determination of nitrite include gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (LC-FL), and ion-exchange liquid chromatography, while spectrophotometric detection methods have been proposed for the determination of nitrite in biological, food, and environmental samples [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]; high performance liquid chromatography with UV absorption (HPLC/DAD) using a phosphatidylcholine column has been applied for the separation and quantitative determination of nitrites in human saliva, whereby nitrite was detected after oxidation to nitrate by potassium permanganate in acidic conditions [ 19 ]; vortex-assisted supramolecular solvent-based liquid phase microextraction via the UV-vis spectrophotometric method [ 20 ] and ion chromatography (IC) coupled with conductivity detection were exploited to determine the content of nitrite ions in homogenized meat samples of baby foods [ 16 ]. However, these methods involved tedious sample pre-treatment steps, e.g., the dissolution of the sample, derivatization of aqueous nitrite via Griess chemistry, reduction of nitrate to nitrite, and extraction with toluene.…”