Comparative effects of cooking techniques on nitrite reduction in sausages

Sausages and other processed meat products commonly use nitrites as food additives, preservatives, antimicrobial agents, and colour fixatives. Although nitrites help in food preservation, they can also form nitrosamines at high temperatures, which are associated with cancer and other diseases. This study aimed to investigate the cooking methods (boiling and pan-frying) that can efficiently remove nitrites from sausages. Different boiling solution pH values (pH 5, 7, and 9) were investigated to determine the optimal pH condition for nitrite removal from sausages. Boiling significantly reduced the residual nitrite levels in sausages compared with untreated sausages. In contrast, pan-frying had no significant effect on residual nitrite levels. In addition, slit sausages had significantly lower residual nitrite levels than unslit sausages under boiling conditions. The optimal pH was examined to determine suitable boiling solution conditions. Boiling at pH 5 significantly reduced the residual nitrite levels compared to boiling at other pH conditions. These results suggest that slitting and boiling under acidic conditions are effective for reducing nitrites in sausages. However, the reduction effect was smaller than that observed in ham, indicating that further optimization is required.