Spices, nitrosamines

N-Nitrosamines in Cured Meats Other Than Bacon. The presence of N-nitrosamines in cured meats other than bacon has been the subject of several recent surveys (19,58,59). In general, the majority of the positive samples contained extremely low levels of N-nitrosamine, usually less than I yg/kg (19,58). This low level could, in part, be attributed to the discontinuation of the use of nitrite-spice premixes in the mid-l970 s (l 9). In the Holland study (59), the predominant N-nitrosamines detected were NDMA and N-nitrosomorpholine (NMOR) and, generally, values of 4 yg/kg were obtained for each N-nitrosamine. More correctly, these are presumptive N-nitrsoamine levels since mass spectral confirmation of their identities was not achieved. 

Sharma, J. N., K. C. Srivastava, and E. K. Gan. Suppressive effects of eugenol and ginger oil on arthritic rats. Pharmacology 1994 49(5) 314-318. Shanmugasundaram, K. R., S. Rama-nujam, and E. R. Shanmugasundaram. Amrita Bindu—a salt-spice herbal health food supplement for the prevention of nitrosamine induced depletion of antioxidants. J Ethnopharmacol 1994 42(2) 83-93. 

Effect of additives on the formation of nitrosamines in meat curing mixtures containing spices and nitrites, J. Agric. Food Chem. 22 1125. 

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