Abstract
Nitrate is allowed to be used in meat products and whale meat bacon as a color fixative, and in cheese and Japanese rice wine (sake) as a fermentation moderating agent, while nitrite is allowed as a color fixative. Safe range for intake of food additives are expressed as ADI (acceptable daily intake, in units of mg of additive/day/kg of body weight). An actual study of personal daily intakes of nitrate and nitrite by Japanese people makes comparisons with the ADI possible, thus confirming whether intakes are within safe levels. The authors have studied the daily intakes of both nitrate and nitrite (additives which are normally present as constituents in foodstuffs) in Fiscal year 1995-1996 in Japan. In 1995, processed foods of 344 articles and in 1996, fresh foods of 132 articles were the objects of the study. They were classified into seven groups i.e. seasonings and beverages (group 1), cereals (group 2), potatoes, pulses, nut and seeds (group 3), fish shelfish and meat (group 4), fats, oil and dairy products (group 5), sugars and confectioneries (group 6) and fruits, vegetables and algae (group 7). Table 1 shows the results of the present study. In the years 1995 and 1996, daily intakes of nitrate were 39.58 and 192.49 mg/day, and of nitrite were 1.08 and 0.07 mg/day, respectively. The highest intake of nitrate was found to be from fresh food in group 7 (fruits, vegetables, mushrooms and seaweeds). In the present study, no significantly different intake pattern was found among regions of western, central and eastern Japan. The daily intake of nitrite was 38% of the ADI. In contrast to nitrite, the daily intake of nitrate extended up to 125.5% of the ADI. However, it was clearly suggested that most of the substance was taken from fresh foods which contained nitrate as normally occurring ingredient.
