Master Pharmacologist US FDA Silver Spring, Maryland, United States
FDA concern over nitrosamines in drugs has been highlighted by the many Agency workshops, guidance documents, publications and research projects focused on this topic, but the issue of nitrosamines in foods has received less attention. In 2023, the European Food Safety Authority Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain provided a scientific opinion on the risks to public health related to the presence of nitrosamines in food. Ten carcinogenic N-NAs (TCNAs) NDMA, NMEA, NDEA, NDPA, NDBA, NMA, NSAR, NMOR, NPIP and NPYR, are of relevance for the assessment of risk to human health related to the presence of N-NAs in food. NPYR, NSAR, NDMA, NPIP and NDEA are the five individual N-NAs contributing the most to the highest mean TCNA exposure across surveys and age groups (> 80%). ‘Meat and meat products' were the main food category contributing to 10 carcinogenic N-nitrosamines occurring in food. Nitrosamines levels increase in some foods after cooking (baking, frying, grilling, microwaving), indicating that cooking generates nitrosamines. Many of the carcinogens are therefore generated by the consumer or food preparer. If appropriate mitigation steps are followed, it is possible to reduce the N-NAs concentration in food. Ascorbates and erythorbates are used for NDMA mitigation in meat. In one study, the addition of erythorbic acid resulted in up to 75% reduction of NHPRO, NPRO, NPIP and NTCA in meat products. Pasteurization had a strong inhibitory effect on DMNA and DENA formation in pork. A decrease in NDMA levels can be obtained in malt processing by adopting procedures such as the avoidance of N2O3 and N2O4 in the kilning air, using systems with indirect heating of low NOx burners. This presentation will discuss the presence of nitrosamines in foods, conditions and cofactors associated with increased levels of nitrosamines in foods and ways to mitigate the generation/presence of these carcinogens.
