Monitoring the status of nitrites in smoked bacon and smoked pork roast

Nitrites as additives prevent the rancidity of triacylglycerol in meat, prevent the growth of microorganisms and contribute to the taste of smoked meat products. They are registered as official preservatives and additives. The potential dangerous effect on the health of nitrites was discovered in the 1960s and a debate on the safety of cured meat products was initiated, since nitrites are the common additives used in cured meat products. This debate was largely focused on cured meat products, although potable water and vegetables are also considered as substantial sources of nitrites intake. The major concern of nitrites in food is related to the potential ability of nitrites to form carcinogenic N-nitroso compounds. The first half of the 20th century brought a gradual shift to nitrites addition in cured meat products, due to a faster curing time, an increased production capacity and a better knowledge of nitrite chemistry. As nitrite reacts with protein to form carcinogenic compound nitrosamine, which increases the risk of cancer for people who like meat food, so the amount of nitrite added in food has attracted great attention of researchers. This research was conducted in order to monitor the status of nitrites in smoked bacon and smoked pork roast in the period from 2020 to 2022 in Serbia. There are many methods for determining nitrite in food, which can be divided into two categories: spectroscopic methods and chromatographic methods. The spectroscopic method at a wavelength of 538 nm was used for this research. 74 samples of smoked meat were analyzed, of which 33 samples of smoked bacon and 41 samples of smoked pork roast. The test results gave an average level of nitrite content expressed as sodium nitrite (NaNO2) for smoked pork bacon of 32.04 mg/kg, while for smoked pork roast the value was 24.26 mg/kg ( maximum concentration 150 mg/kg). Based on this research, it can be concluded that the concentration of nitrites in the tested smoked bacon and smoked pork