EFFECT OF EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES ON THE FORMATION OF VOLATILE NITROSAMINES IN EMULSIONED MEAT PRODUCTS

Nitrite and nitrate salts are used as curing agents in meat products for having antibacterial properties and providing sensory characteristics. However, residues of theses salts can generate volatile nitrosamines(VNAs), which are considered by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as carcinogenic compounds. In Brazil, there are no regulations for maximum residue limit (MRL) of VNAs in these products, unlike countries such as Canada and Chile, with an MRL < 30 μg kg-1. The
objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of using ultrasound (US) and basic electrolyzed water (BEW) with 0.01% NaCl in mortadella prepared with reduced concentration of NaCl on the formation of VNAs in production and storage of the product. The VNAs detected were N-Nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA), N Nitrosodibutylamine (NDBA) and N-Nitrosopiperidine (NPIP) at concentrations < 0.6 μg kg1. The use of BEW significantly reduced the formation of NDEA, including when combined with ultrasound, reaching values below the method’s detection limits after 60 days of storage. However, NDBA increased after 60 days, except for formulations with less salt and application of BEW, which reduced in these treatments. As for NPIP, there were few variations during storage, but the reduction
of NaCl and the use of BEW contributed to its decrease. Therefore, reducting NaCl in the formulation had a significant effect on attenuating the formation of VNAs for most of the times evaluated and the addition of BEW proved to be a promising technology, since the nitrosamines studied reduced their concentration throughout storage. The same effect was not observed with the use of US, in which only
NPIP reduced its concentration. In this way, the use of this emerging technology did not catalyze the formation of nitrosamines in mortadella, proving to be a safe alternative.