Comparison of three methods for determination of N-nitrosopyrrolidine in fried dry-cured and pump-cured bacon

Three methods, the mineral oil distillation (MOD), the dry column (DC), and a low temperature vacuum distillation (LTVD), for the determination of N-nitrosopyrrolidine in dry-cured and pump-cured bacon were compared. Each method uses the thermal energy analyzer for the determinative step. The coefficients of variation for repeatability were 10.3% (MOD), 7.2% (DC), and 9.1% (LTVD) for the dry-cured bacon study and 8.7% (MOD), 8.5% (DC), and 7.1% (LTVD) for the pump-cured bacon study. The pooled coefficients of variation for between-method reproducibility were 11.8% for the dry-cured bacon and 10.8% for the pump-cured bacon. The pooled coefficients of variation for repeatability were 9.0% for the dry-cured bacon and 8.2% for the pump-cured bacon. These values compare favorably with the values from previous collaborative or validation studies of the individual methods, and the methods can be considered to be equivalent.