Volatile N-nitrosamines in processed meat products: An approach for monitoring dietary exposure, assessing human risk, and evaluating variable correlations by principal component analysis and heat map

Food Chem Toxicol. 2024 Jun:188:114649. doi: 10.1016/j.fct.2024.114649. Epub 2024 Apr 9.

Abstract

Several epidemiological studies have reported a positive association between the consumption of processed meats containing N-nitrosamines (NAs) and the incidence of hepatocellular and colon cancer. The health risk assessment in this investigation was based on the concentration of six volatile N-nitrosamines (VNAs) (N-nitrosodimethylamine, N-nitrosodiethylamine, N-nitrosomethylethylamine, N-nitrosopiperidine, N-nitrosodibutylamine, and N-nitrosodi-n-propylamine) found in processed meat products (sausage and kielbasa) in the Iranian market. Direct supported liquid membrane two-phase hollow fiber electromembrane extraction coupled to gas chromatography/mass spectrometry was used to analyse six VNAs. The mean concentration of the six VNAs in sausages and kielbasa was 38.677 ± 27.56 and 48.383 ± 35.76 μg/kg, respectively. The 95th percentile for the chronic daily intake of total VNAs for children (3-14 years) and adults (15-70 years) were calculated to be 5.06 × 10-4 and 1.09 × 10-4 mg/kg bw/day, respectively. The cancer risk assessment showed that the risk associated with NDEA was the highest among the other VNAs studied in Iranian processed meat, with a 95th percentile for the child and adult groups. Based on an incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) value of ≤10-4 for the carcinogenic effects of exposure to a total of six VNAs, it indicates low concern for all age groups.

Keywords: Dietary exposure; Heat map; Principal component analysis; Processed meat products; Risk assessment; Volatile N-Nitrosamines.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Dietary Exposure* / analysis
  • Food Contamination / analysis
  • Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry / methods
  • Humans
  • Iran
  • Meat Products* / analysis
  • Middle Aged
  • Nitrosamines* / analysis
  • Principal Component Analysis*
  • Risk Assessment
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Nitrosamines