Volatile nitrosamines in fried bacon

This study included 75 samples of traditionally produced pork bacon and 37 samples of 4 bacon-like products which were manufactured from turkey, beef, pork and turkey, and beef and turkey. All samples were purchased at commercial outlets in the United States, fried, and analyzed for volatile nitrosamines. Volatile nitrosamines detected included N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA), N-nitrosodibutylamine (NDBA), N-nitrosopiperidine (NPIP), N-nitrasopyrrolidine (NPYR), and N-nitrosothiazolidine (NTHZ). All traditional pork bacon samples contained NPYR (mean 6.7 mu g/kg, range 0.7-25 mu g/kg), and all but one contained NDMA (mean 0.95 mu g/kg, range none detected to 3.0 mu g/kg). NPIP was detected only in samples which contained pepper. NDEA and NDBA occurred sporadically while NTHZ was detected rather consistently throughout the bacon samples. Overall, volatile nitrosamine levels detected in traditional pork bacon confirm the downward trend observed over the past several decades, although 16% of the traditional pork bacon samples did contain NPYR, above the 10 ppb violative level. Every type of bacon-like product contained significantly lower levels of MDMA and NPYR, as compared to the regular traditional pork bacon. This is an important observation since bacon-like products are a relatively new entree in the marketplace.