Quantification of residual nitrite and nitrate in ham by reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography/diode...

Area of Science:

• Food Chemistry
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Nitrite and nitrate are crucial ham additives for color, flavor, and preservation.
• Classical methods for their determination are time-consuming, prone to interference, and use toxic cadmium.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a rapid, cost-effective RP-HPLC method for quantifying nitrites and nitrates in ham.
• To provide a superior alternative to existing laborious and hazardous analytical techniques.

Main Methods:

• Optimized and validated a reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method with a diode array detector.
• Utilized a HyPurity C18 column with gradient elution for chromatographic separation.
• Established linear ranges of 0.0125-10.0 mg/L for nitrite and 0.0300-12.5 g/L for nitrate.

Main Results:

• Achieved low detection limits of 0.019 mg/kg for nitrite and 0.050 mg/kg for nitrate.
• Demonstrated high precision with coefficients of variation below 2.89% for nitrite and 5.47% for nitrate.
• Obtained excellent recovery rates (93.6%-104.3%) and results consistent with reference methods in ham samples.

Conclusions:

• The developed RP-HPLC method is rapid, sensitive, selective, and reliable for nitrite and nitrate determination in ham.
• This method offers a significant advancement over traditional techniques, improving safety and efficiency in food analysis.