1980 Volume 21 Issue 3 Pages 184-188_1
During the period from February through April, 1979, commercial beers of different types obtained from retailers in Tokyo were examined for the presence of volatile N-nitrosamine (NNA).
Detection and determination of NNA were carried out by the use of a thermal energy analyzer coupled with gas chromatography.
It was found that 25 (93%) of 27 samples contained dimethylnitrosamine (DMNA), with a mean level of 1.7ppb; no other NNA was detectable.
The source of the DMNA was investigated, and it was found that relatively high levels of DMNA contamination of malt occurred when the green malt was dried and/or kilned with fuel gas, while lower levels were found in green malt treated with an electric desiccator.
