BS 4401-8:1976

This standard BS 4401-8:1976 Methods of test for meat and meat products is classified in these ICS categories:

• 67.120.10 Meat and meat products

This Part of BS 4401 describes a reference method for the determination of the nitrite content of meat and meat products.

The method is applicable to all meat products, other than those having an unusually high content of strongly reducing substances. Strongly reducing substances (e.g. ascorbic acid, ascorbates) tend to reduce nitrite under the acidic conditions obtained in this method. If the content of reducing substances is much higher than that which has normally resulted from the manufacturing processes hitherto applied, the results obtained by this method could be misleading.

NOTE ISO 2918 describes the method as suitable for meat and meat products, without indicating any limitation.

Spectrophotometric method using sulphanilamide and N-1-naphthylenediamine after aqueous extraction and precipitation of proteins. Applicable to all meat products except those with an abnormally high content of reducing agents.