Nitrate and Nitrite Content in Commercially-available Fruit Juice Packaged Products

The concentration of nitrate and nitrite in fruit juice products varies depending on their origin, storage condition and processing technologies .The objectives of this study were: To determine the concentration of nitrate and nitrite levels in most known fruit juices available commercially in the form of packaged in Tehran market (Iran), by spectrophotometric methods, and to compare these results with the maximum admissible limit set in drinking water by different international organizations: United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and World Health Organization and also national standard. As the assessment of dietary nitrate and nitrite intake by consumption of fruit juice in accordance with acceptable daily intakes was the main objective of the present work, a descriptive – analytical and cross-sectional study was conducted for determination nitrate and nitrite by UV-Visible spectrophotometer in 540 samples of 6 varieties of Pineapple, Orange, Mango, Tropical, Cherry and Grape popular fruit juice packaged products (some were imported) commercially available in Iran market in three consecutive seasons of 2015. The result from this study show that all the fruit juices analyzed contained detectable amount of nitrate, nitrite. The mean nitrate and nitrite levels in the juices ranged from 14.02±0.02to 43.34±1. 42 and 4.23 ± 0.08 to 11.82±1.20 mg/L ± SE, respectively. The consumption of two or more servings of these products or one serving along with supplement sources of nitrite in diet (such as vegetables, legumes, or even some water sources) could have the daily intake increased above ADI value as recommended by WHO.