Volatile nitrosamines in a dry fermented sausage "sucuk": Occurrence and effect of cooking on their formation

The aim of the study was to reveal the occurrence of volatile nitrosamines in a dry fermented sausage (sucuk) samples from different brands, and to determine the effects of cooking time (raw, 1 min and 3 min) on nitrosamine formation. Mean residual nitrite and pH were below 20 mg kg−1 and 5.4 in raw samples, respectively. In these samples, mean aw varied between 0.937 and 0.961. N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), N-nitrosomethylethylamine (NMEA), N-nitrozopyrrolidine (NPYR) and N-nitrozopiperidine (NPIP) were determined in samples. In raw samples, maximum NDMA and NPIP levels were 0.81 μg kg−1 and 0.95 μg kg−1, respectively. NPYR was below the limit of detection (0.36 μg kg−1) in all raw samples. The differences between the brands were significant for NMEA, NPYR and NPIP. In raw samples, NDMA, NMEA, aw and residual nitrite had a positive correlation in PC1. Principle component analysis and heat map visualization confirmed that nitrosamine level increased with increasing cooking time.