Nitrates and nitrites in food – a health hazard? Comparative study of nitrate content in drinking water and food

Nitrites and nitrates are largely spread in the environment and we can naturally find them in vegetables and fruit as part of the azote cycle. Due to their beneficial properties against the microbian contamination and chemical changes, they are frequently used in terms of additives in meat products, milk products or cereals. Some vegetables, as for example the unprocessed spinach, the green salad, celery, zucchini and beatroot may contain large concentrations of nitrites and nitrates, and the large consumption of these substances determine a high level of nitrates and nitrites in organisms. Meat represents another source of nitrites in our diet. The food industry uses nitrates (sodium nitrate E251, potassium nitrate E252) and nitrites (sodium nitrites E250, potassium nitrites E249) as additives to improve the properties of the meat products. To reduce the nitrates quantities ingested everyday, they try to eliminate them in the food industry even if the main source of nitrates and nitites remains the consumption of vegetables and fruit.  Along with the methemobinizing action of these compounds, they take into account the reduction of the risk of the occurance of nitrosamines with cancer effect, nitrates and nitrites are also responsible for the formation of these compounds.

In studying them, we have determined the level of nitrites in some fruit and vegetables (Green test) and we have evaluated the level of nitrates and nitrites in a series of samples of drinkable water in the rural environment (semiquantitaive method).  We consider it necessary to develop the research in this direction to monitorize both the contamination with nitrates in the drinkable water and the quantity of additives (E249-E252) which is now used in the food industry and to contribute to their reduction.