Rapid and Simple Extraction Method for Volatile N-Nitrosamines in Meat Products

A new methodology for extraction, pre-concentration and analysis of volatile nitrosamines in meat-derived products was developed and compared with conventional methods (Distillation and two-step solid-phase extraction). The samples (canned sausages, cured meat, luncheon and smoked meat) were treated with an aqueous sodium hydroxide (NaOH) by autoclaving at 121°C for 10 min and extracted by liquid-liquid extraction with dichloromethane, then the nitrosamines were pre-concentrated using activated silica. Then, gas chromatography coupled with flame ionization detector was used for the separation and determination of the different nitrosamines contained in a real sample and gas chromatography with mass spectrometry detection was used as the confirmation technique. The newly invented autoclaving method allowed the determination of nitrosamine compounds at trace levels with limit of detection ranged from 0.077 to 0.18 ppb and quantitation limits were from 0.26 to 0.6 ppb for all nitrosamines, and found to be superior to the conventional ones, yielding approximately about 10%-20% increasing in the recovery compared with the mean recovery obtained when applying conventional methods.