The topicality of the issue of nitrates control in food products

Abstract. Nitrates are natural metabolic products of all plants. They are vital to plants – without them their normal growth and development is impossible. However, the uncontrolled use of nitrogen fertilizers has led to their uncontrolled accumulation in food products. When eating vegetables with high amounts of nitrates, they are partially restored to nitrites in the intestinal tract, and the latter, entering the bloodstream cause diseases – methemoglobinemia. Therefore, quantitative and qualitative determination of nitrates and nitrites in plant and animal products, water and soils are relevant today. Based on the analysis of scientific literature, the essence of the problem of excessive accumulation of nitrates in agricultural products and their negative impact on human health is highlighted. Aim. The aim of the research was to determine experimentally the concentration of nitrates and nitrites in plant and animal products, water and soils, to compare it with the maximum allowable concentration as required by Commission Regulation (EU) No 1258/2011 on maximum nitrate content in vegetables and by State sanitary rules and regulations on Maximum Permissible Levels of Certain Contaminants in Food, approved by the Order of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine of May 13, 2013 No 368 (as amended by the order of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine of May 22, 2020 No 1238). Materials and Methods. Sources of information retrieval in printed and electronic publications, databases search engines, methods of analysis, comparison and generalization of data. Photometric method. Results. The analysis of the value of nitrates in nature, sources of this substance in food was conducted; normalization of the content of nitrate components, the problem of plant products quality decline due to the uncontrolled use of fertilizers was studied; the content of nitrates in plant and animal products; the harmful effects of products with high nitrate content were considered; a comprehensive assessment of nitrate content in plant products was carried out; comparative characteristics of methods for determination of nitrate compounds were given; the consequences of consumption of products with high nitrate content were analyzed. Conclusions. The problem of nitrate pollution is becoming increasingly significant, because the amount and speed of the nitrate nitrogen cycle in the environment is constantly increasing, which increases its impact on natural systems and the possibility of nitrate accumulation in crop products, humans and animals. Therefore, the implementation of analytical control of food and environmental objects is important to obtain objective information about the content of man-made pollutants, which are nitrates and nitrites. Key Words: nitrates, maximum permissible level, nitrate compounds, nitrate pollution.