[State of nitrite in meat products]

The authors search the form under which nitrite is in cured products. Nitrate formation found by official methods is not confirmed by qualitative characterization. The calculations, according to the chemical equations, show the total breakdown of nitrite in nitroge oxide: NO, bound by many substances which are in meats. The distillation experiments confirm the calculations, the characteristic photometric spectra get in sulfitic medium and the modified Zambelli's reaction. These results lead to estimate that both technologic and toxicologic actions impute to nitrite is dominated by the idea of NO more or less bound, according to the medium composition.