[Effect of sample storage conditions and treatment on "free nitrite" in meat products].

Abstract

The aim of the work presented here is to study the effect of different factors on the amount of "free" nitrite in meat products. Two kinds of factors are involved: --factors modifying the amount of "free" nitrite in the product; --factors modifying the amount of nitrite determined as "free". The former are mainly depending on the storage conditions of the products, for instance: low pH, light exposure, high temperature, increase the nitrite losses. The latter are depending on the analysis methodology. A strong physical treatment of the samples, a high temperature during extraction, a long time of extraction, the repetition of the extraction, increase the amount of nitrite determined as "free" by releasing a part of the bound fraction. So, it is very important, for the significance of results in "free" nitrite determination, to know very precisely storage and treatment conditions of the samples.