Chemical effects of nitrite reduction during digestion of cured cooked and recooked meat on nitrosation, nitrosylation and oxidation.

Nitrites are food additives used in meatfor their bacteriological, technological and sensory properties.However, they are suspected to be involved in the formation of various mutagenic nitroso compounds (NOCs).With a view to reducing the use of nitrite in meat products to improve the healthiness thereof, the formation of NOCs was studied during dynamic in vitro digestion ofcooked and recooked meats preparedwith various levels of nitrite. Residual nitrite and nitrate and NOCs were evaluated in the gastric and ileal compartments.In the absence of added nitrite, basalnitrosation and nitrosylation were detected, probably due to the oxidation of ammonium salts present in the gastric fluid. Nitrosamines, nitrosyl heme and nitrosothiols displayed different kinetics of formation and degradation,reflecting a possible transfer of nitric oxide from one substrate to another. A protective effect of nitrite on lipid oxidation was also observed during digestion.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Sante-Lhoutellier reports financial support was provided by French National Institute for Agricultural Research INRAE. Sante-Lhoutellier reports financial support was provided by Collaborative project ADDUITS. Bonifacie reports a relationship with Collaborative project ADDUITS that includes: funding grants. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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