[Nitrite content of common vegetables in Wuhu City]

Laboratory analysis was carried out to study the nitrite content and its affecting factors of 10 common vegetables in terminal markets of Wuhu City. The results showed that the nitrite content of root or stem- and fruit vegetables was lower than the national standard, but that of leaf vegetables exceeded the standard seriously. The nitrite in vegetables increased significantly with storage time. Stored under room temperature, the test vegetables had 1-2 times higher nitrite content at the fourth day than at the first day, but storage under low temperature, i. e., in refrigerator, could hinder the increase of nitrite content in vegetables, and the daily increase was only 1/2-1/6 times of that under room temperature. Abluent could eliminate nitrite effectively, whose efficiency was 1-5 times higher than that of tap water.