Discussion on standard management of food additives nitrate and nitrite in meat products

Abstract

ObjectiveAnalyze the food safety standard management of food additives nitrate and nitrite used in meat products.MethodsThe future direction of national food safety standard management is discussed through the analysis of the standards of Codex Alimentarius, the United States of America, Canada, the European Union, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Republic of Korea and China, combined with risk assessment results, monitoring data and food poisoning incident data.ResultsFrom the perspective of process control, operability of final product testing and practical detection at import-export ports, the United States of America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand set the maximum use level, while Japan and the Republic of Korea set the maximum residual level. At the same time, the European Union sets the maximum use level or residual level according to the specific food products. China sets both the maximum use level and the residual level, and the N-dimethyl nitrosamine is regulated as pollutant in the corresponding food categories. The dietary exposure result indicates that nitrate and nitrite used as food additives have a low contribution to dietary exposure, therefore they pose low food safety risks to the public.ConclusionAlthough maintaining the maximum use level and residual level of nitrate and nitrite in the food safety standard is in line with the process control principles and actual regulatory requirements, it is still recommended to continue to carry out research on improvement of food processing technology and alternatives of these food additives, and it is necessary to go on promoting food safety education for consumers and catering industry to prevent food poisoning caused by misuse of nitrites and nitrates.

Keywords

• nitrates
• nitrites
• meat products
• standard management