RAPID SEMIQUANTITATIVE ESTIMATION OF N-NITROSODIBUTYLAMINE AND N-NITROSODIBENZYLAMINE IN SMOKED HAMS BY SOLID-PHASE MICROEXTRACTION FOLLOWED BY GAS-CHROMATOGRAPHY THERMAL-ENERGY ANALYSIS

A solid-phase microextraction (SPME) analytical method has been develo ped for the determination of N-nitrosodi-n-butylamine (NDBA) and N-nit rosodibenzylamine (NDBzA) in hams that is based on: (a) isolation of t he compounds by steam distillation, (b) SPME from the distillate heads pace using a polyacrylate coated silica fibre and (c) determination by gas chromatography-thermal energy analyzer technique or confirmation by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Recoveries of both NDBA and N DBzA from hams spiked at 5 to 160 mu g/kg levels ranged between 41 to 112%. The overall method is fast, sensitive (detection limits, 1 to 3 mu g/kg), precise (within 10%) and fairly accurate (average recoveries 86% and 70%, respectively). The results obtained by this technique fo r seven ham samples agreed fairly well with those obtained by an exist ing method (r(2)=0.97). The new method is solventless, environmentally friendly and useful for rapid monitoring purposes. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.