Animal feeding study with nitrite-treated meat

In order to detect possible formation of carcinogenic N-nitroso compounds from nitrite and nitrosatable compounds in meat, studies were carried out with 70 male and 140 female F0 rats, divided into six groups, and 60, 100, 70, 60, 60 and 66 of their male and female offspring. One control group received casein and other groups chopped pork as the sole protein source (45%, mass/mass) on a fresh basis, either salted (sodium chloride) or not. For test groups, nitrite was also added to the meat before autoclaving and storing the diet and represented mass fractions of 200, 1 000 and 4 000 mg/kg, as sodium nitrite. The results do not demonstrate any effect on reproduction and no significant carcinogenic effect was revealed. However, an observed tendency toward an increased number of tumour-bearing rats in the highest dose group, plus the possible formation of carcinogenic N-nitroso compounds in nitrite-treated meat products, led to a recommendation to reduce the use of nitrite. Results from a concomitant study demonstrate that it is possible to produce many cured-meat products with the addition of only 50 mg/kg nitrite.