N-Nitrosamines in Nitrite-Cured Chicken-Seal Salami

The effect of inclusion of mechanically separated seal meat (MSSM) and seal protein hydrolyzate (SPH) on the formation of N-nitrosamines in chicken salami was investigated. Inclusion of MSSM (10 or 20%) or SPH (1 or 2%) in salami had little effect on the formation of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) in the products. While the control sample contained 0.33 μg/kg NDMA, other samples contained 0.37 to 0.52 μg/kg of NDMA. Smoking of the samples resulted in small but an insignificant difference in the content of NDMA in the products. Some products contained traces of N-nitrosopiperidine, N-nitrosopyrrolidine and N-nitrosomorpholine, which were perhaps formed from interaction of amines in spice mixes with nitrite. Boiling, microwaving and frying had little effect on the content of N-nitrosamines; fried products contained up to 0.79 μg/kg NDMA.