Volatile, non‐volatile and totalN‐nitroso compounds in bacon

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Abstract
Twenty‐five smoked and unsmoked fried bacon samples have been analysed by a group selective procedure to measure the concentration of apparent total N‐nitroso compounds (ATNC). The levels of a range of individual N‐nitroso compounds, including simple volatile N‐nitrosamines, N‐nitrosothiazolidines, N‐nitrosoamino acids and N‐nitrosothiazolidine carboxylic acids have also been examined. Concentrations of ATNC varied from 430 to 6800 μg(N‐NO)/kg with a mean of 2700 μg(N‐NO)/kg. Protein‐bound N‐nitrosoproline was the most abundant compound detected in unsmoked bacon, mean 260 μg/kg, and on average accounted for 4% of the ATNC concentration. For smoked bacon, bound N‐nitrosoproline was detected in levels of up to 890 μg/kg and contributed 5% to the ATNC total. The most abundant compound present in smoked bacon was N‐nitrosothiazolidine‐4‐carboxylic acid, mean 660 μg/kg, and this accounted for 6% of the ATNC. N‐Nitrosothiazolidine, mean 340 μg/kg, and 2‐(hydroxymethyl)‐3‐nitrosothiazolidine‐4‐carboxylic acid, mean 180 μg/kg, were the next most prominent compounds detected in smoked bacon. The combined sum of all the individual N‐nitroso compounds measured accounted for, on average, 16% of the total ATNC. The identities of the N‐nitroso compounds comprising the majority of the ATNC in bacon remain unknown.