Investigation of formation of N-nitrosamines in heat-treated sucuk

This study was carried out to determine the amounts of seven volatile N-nitrosamine derivatives, which are probable carcinogens, in heat-treated sucuk (a kind of dried and cured sausage), a risky food in this respect, from the beginning of production to the time of consumption. The study also aimed to investigate the effects of the amount of ascorbic acid added as an additive and the applied heat treatment parameters on the formation of N-nitrosamine in all these processes. For this purpose; sucuk dough with three different ascorbic acid contents of 0.05%, 0.1% and 0.15% were prepared. These prepared doughs were processed with three different heat treatment applications during the production process, with the central temperature of the samples being 57°C, 65°C and 73°C. Thus, according to the production stages (fermentation, heat treatment, maturation), storage process (Day 30. Day 60. Day 90.) and consumption preferences (frying, microwave cooking, grilling), N-nitrosamine compounds and their amounts formed in the sucuk could be determined. N-nitrosamine analyses of the samples prepared for these purposes were performed with LC-MS/MS device. According to the results of the study, while all N-nitrosamine derivatives except for NPYR and NDPA, were detected in the first two stages of the production process, fermentation and heat treatment, high levels of NMEA (28.5 μg/kg), NPIP (4.3 μg/kg) and NDMA (2.3 μg/kg) were formed following the maturation stage, while other N-nitrosamine derivatives also started to form. Again, depending on the ratio of ascorbic acid added at this stage, N-nitrosamine formation was significantly suppressed. The effects of the applied heat treatment parameters on N-nitrosamine formation were limited compared to ascorbic acid. In the last stage of the study, cooking processes were evaluated and high values were obtained compared to production and storage data. Differences were also detected between the type of cooking method and N-nitrosamine formations. While cooking sucuk with microwaves led to relatively low levels of N-nitrosamine formation, high levels of N-nitrosamine compounds were detected especially in frying and grilling processes. When all data of the study are examined, the lowest value is seen in NPYR rates in sucuk samples with 0.15% ascorbic acid addition (0.32 µg/kg)The highest N-nitrosamine rate was determined as 80 μg/kg NMEA in fried samples. As a result, sucuk carries a risk in terms of N-nitrosamines from its production to the last day of consumption. Increasing the amount of ascorbic acid during production was effective in reducing N-nitrosamine levels at every stage. Cooking method preferences during consumption processes also significantly affect the formation N-nitrosamine.