Steering Group on Chemical Aspects of Food Surveillance formerly known as the Steering Group on Food Surveillance

Abstract: This first volume of a 2-volume report attempts to assess the health risks associated with overall exposure to nitrate, nitrite, and N-nitroso compounds, with emphasis on the risks from natural and supplemented nitrate and nitrite in foods and the use of nitrite as a food preservative. An evaluation was made of the toxicologic and carcinogenic significance of exposure to these chemical species and their potential health risks. A number of conclusions are developed from this evaluative report. These include: nitrate is neither carcinogenic nor mutagenic; nitrite is not a direct-acting carcinogen; most N-nitroso compounds are carcinogenic in laboratory animals, but the experimental data are of limited value in predicting their quantitative risk to humans; the nitrosation-inhibiting effects of ascorbate and other substances have been established; and, due to possible health risk in using nitrate as a curing agent, a search for alternatives should be continued. The use of nitrate and nitrite in foods and the chemistry of these materials are discussed. (wz).