Ensuring the validity of measurement results of nitrite and nitrate in meat products

Abstract

Nitrate and nitrite measurement is a fundamental part of quality control in the meat products industries. The guarantee of technical validity of the results of these measurements can be achieved through the adoption of appropriate metrological tools such as method validation. In this study, the measurement of the mass fractions of nitrite and nitrate ions was performed by ion chromatography with UV detection. The method was linear (r > 0.99) over the working range. Limits of quantification values for measuring nitrite and nitrate in meat product were 8.0 mg kg−1 and 52.4 mg kg−1, respectively. The mean values of recovery at all evaluated mass fraction levels were within the range of 88 % to 106 %. All the validation parameters resulted as satisfactory, and the method was considered adequate for the intended use.