Fate of nitrite added to cured meat. II. Comparison of the fate of nitrite added to whole meat, meat fractions and model systems.

The fate of nitrite in cured meat was investigated. Of added nitrite-N, 66_??_90% was found as nitrite, nitrate, nitrosothiol, denatured nitrosomyoglobin and gaseous nitrogen compounds, and the remainder of N was unidentified. The amount of unidentified N depended on both the curing period and the amount of added sodium ascorbate (AS). Pork was separated into four fractions: dil. sodium chloride-soluble small-molecular fraction (Fr. 1), dil. sodium chloride-soluble large-molecular fraction (Fr. 2), Weber-Edsall solution-soluble fraction (Fr. 3) and Weber-Edsall solution-insoluble fraction (Fr. 4). Each fraction was cured and the fate of nitrite was examined. In the absence of AS, almost all nitrite-N was detectable, while in its presence, 73_??_82% of nitrite-N was detectable in both Fr. 1 and Fr. 2, 78_??_100% in Fr. 3 and 94_??_100% in Fr. 4. These results suggest that the unidentified nitrite-N in cured meat originated mostly from the reaction between the three meat fractions (Frs. 1, 2 and 3), nitrite and AS.