Zhang Yin, Zhang Yingjie, Jia Jianlin, Peng Haichuan, Qian Qin, Pan Zhongli, Liu Dayu
Meat Processing Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu University, Chengdu, 610106, China.
Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.
Curr Res Food Sci. 2023 Feb 24;6:100470. doi: 10.1016/j.crfs.2023.100470. eCollection 2023.
Meat and meat products are important foods in the human diet, but there are concerns about their quality and safety. The discovery of carcinogenic and genotoxic N-nitroso compounds (NOCs) in processed meat products has had serious negative impacts on the meat industry. In order to clarify the relationship between the use of nitrite or nitrate and the safety of meat or meat products, we reviewed NOCs in meat and meat products, the origin and safety implications of NOCs, effects of nitrite and nitrate on meat quality, national regulations, recent publications concerning the using of nitrite and nitrate in meat or meat products, and reduction methods. By comparing and analyzing references, (1) we found antioxidant, flavor improvement and shelf-life extension effects were recently proposed functions of nitrite and nitrate on meat quality, (2) the multiple functions of nitrite and nitrate in meat and meat products couldn't be fully replaced by other food additives at present, (3) we observed that the residual nitrite in raw meat and fried meat products was not well monitored, (4) alternative additives seem to be the most successful methods of replacing nitrite in meat processing, currently. The health risks of consuming processed meat products should be further evaluated, and more effective methods or additives for replacing nitrite or nitrate are needed.
肉类和肉制品是人类饮食中的重要食物，但人们对其质量和安全存在担忧。在加工肉制品中发现致癌和致基因毒性的N-亚硝基化合物（NOCs）对肉类行业产生了严重的负面影响。为了阐明亚硝酸盐或硝酸盐的使用与肉类或肉制品安全性之间的关系，我们综述了肉类和肉制品中的NOCs、NOCs的来源及安全影响、亚硝酸盐和硝酸盐对肉质的影响、国家法规、近期有关在肉类或肉制品中使用亚硝酸盐和硝酸盐的出版物以及减少方法。通过比较和分析参考文献，（1）我们发现抗氧化、改善风味和延长保质期是最近提出的亚硝酸盐和硝酸盐对肉质的作用，（2）目前亚硝酸盐和硝酸盐在肉类和肉制品中的多种功能不能被其他食品添加剂完全替代，（3）我们观察到生肉和油炸肉制品中的残留亚硝酸盐监测不足，（4）目前替代添加剂似乎是肉类加工中替代亚硝酸盐最成功的方法。食用加工肉制品的健康风险应进一步评估，并且需要更有效的方法或添加剂来替代亚硝酸盐或硝酸盐。
