The occurrence of cyanide in certain smoked meat products

Fifteen samples of smoked reindeer meat, two samples of smoked mutton from Iceland and five samples of smoked salamitype fermented sausage were analysed for their cyanide (CN) content by a steam distillation method. The mean cyanide content of the smoked reindeer meat was found to be 1.38 +/- 1.01 mg CH/kg, range 0.27--4.27 mg/kg. The two smoked mutton samples, contained 1.93 and 1.78 mg CN/kg and the mean cyanide content of the five Salami samples was found to be 0.19 +/- 0.13 mg CH/kg, range 0.06--0.40 mg/kg. The toxicological aspects of the findings are discussed, with special reference to the possible effects of nitrate and nitrite in the products.