Development and validation of an ionic chromatography method for the determination of nitrate, nitrite and chloride in meat

• Published in: Food chemistry 2016-03, Vol.194, p.687-694
• Main Authors: Lopez-Moreno, Cristina, Perez, Isabel Viera, Urbano, Ana M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anions; Certified Reference Materials; Chlorides - analysis; Chromatography - methods; Ionic chromatography; Mathematical treatment; Matrix effects; Meat - analysis; Meat preservatives determination; Method validation; Nitrates - analysis; Nitrites - analysis; Signal stability; Statistical study; Uncertainty calculation
• ISSN: 0308-8146; 1873-7072
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2015.08.017

•Validation of an ionic chromatography method for the analysis of meat is proposed.•Fortified reference meat samples containing Cl−, NO3− and NO2− were prepared.•Nitrite signal showed a temporal decay for high concentration samples.•Using a mathematical model, stable nitrite values were achieved for reference meat.•Satisfactory statistical results of the validation were obtained. The purpose of this study is to develop the validation of a method for the analysis of certain preservatives in meat and to obtain a suitable Certified Reference Material (CRM) to achieve this task. The preservatives studied were NO3−, NO2− and Cl− as they serve as important antimicrobial agents in meat to inhibit the growth of bacteria spoilage. The meat samples were prepared using a treatment that allowed the production of a known CRM concentration that is highly homogeneous and stable in time. The matrix effects were also studied to evaluate the influence on the analytical signal for the ions of interest, showing that the matrix influence does not affect the final result. An assessment of the signal variation in time was carried out for the ions. In this regard, although the chloride and nitrate signal remained stable for the duration of the study, the nitrite signal decreased appreciably with time. A mathematical treatment of the data gave a stable nitrite signal, obtaining a method suitable for the validation of these anions in meat. A statistical study was needed for the validation of the method, where the precision, accuracy, uncertainty and other mathematical parameters were evaluated obtaining satisfactory results.