Determination and estimation of daily nitrite intake from processed meats in Korea

The purpose of this study was to assess daily nitrite intake from processed meats in Korea. The estimated daily intake (EDI) of nitrite was calculated from analytical data and national food consumption data (2010). First, the nitrite contents of 287 food items were measured and the data on nitrite concentrations were combined with national food consumption data to obtain the EDI of nitrite. The highest overall mean concentration of nitrite among eight food categories was found in sausage (16.9 mg kg(-1)). The nitrite concentrations in all processed meats were below 60 mg kg(-1), and were less than the maximum level (70 mg kg(-1)) permitted by the Korean government. The EDI of nitrite by the total population (EDItotal) was 1.5 A mu g per kg of body weight per day (mu g kg(-1) b.w. day(-1)), which was 2.5% of the acceptable daily intake (ADI) (60 mu g kg(-1) b.w. day(-1)) stipulated by the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations/World Health Organization Expert Committee on Food Additives. The EDItotal of nitrite for the nitrite-consuming group (EDIeater) was 30.7 mu g kg(-1) b.w. day(-1), which was 51.1% of the ADI. Children aged 3-6 years and 7-12 years consumed the most nitrite, but their EDIs (EDItotal and EDIeater) were still less than the ADI.