Determination of volatile N-nitrosamines in frankfurters containing minced fish and surimi

A method was developed to quantitatively measure volatile N-nitrosamines, particularly N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), in cured minced fish or surimi-meat frankfurters. This method is free from artifact formation. First, 2 dry solid-phase extraction columns are prepared. Solvent is passed through the top column containing the fish-meat into a second column containing acid Celite. The eluate from the Celite column is then passed through a third column containing silica gel. Nitrosamines are eluted from the acid Celite column and then from the silica gel column into the same receiver. Recovery of the internal standard, N-nitrosoazetidine, added at the 10 ppb level, was 86.5%. In addition, a few samples of nitrite-treated salmon (lox) were also tested for N-nitrosamines. The results show that the method is applicable to samples containing nitrite-treated fish and fish-derived products.