Despite
sufficient control of volatile N-nitrosamines
in foods and beverages, little attention remained on nonvolatile nitroso
compounds, which are mostly unknown and relative to nitrite reactions.
In a recent study, new compounds related to reactions of nitrite in
beer were pyruvic acid oxime, 4-nitrosophenol, 4-cyanophenol, N-nitrosoproline ethyl ester, nitrosoguaiacol, and 2-methoxy-5-nitrophenol,
as well as the already known N-nitrosoproline. The
present study is intended to observe their natural occurrence in commercial
beers and malts. All 22 nitrite-related products (N-products) were
monitored in almost 200 samples of beers and malts. As many as 17
N-products were detected in malts, and all 22 N-products were found
in beers. The hierarchical clustering grouped samples based on similarities
of detected N-products by frequency of their appearance and level
of response. Between N-products and N-nitrosodimethylamine
concentrations in malts, only moderate Pearson correlations were found.
The same applied to N-product correlations with the apparent total
nitroso compound determination in beers.