Investigation on the Contents of Nε-carboxymethyllysine, Nε-carboxyethyllysine, and N-nitrosamines in Commercial Sausages on the Chinese Market

Sausages are among the most popular meat products worldwide. However, some harmful products, such as advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) and N-nitrosamines (NAs), can be formed simultaneously during sausage processing. In this study, the contents of AGEs, NAs, α-dicarbonyls and the proximate composition were investigated in two kinds of commercial sausages (fermented sausages and cooked sausages) in the Chinese market. The correlations among them were further analyzed. The results showed that the fermented and cooked sausages had different in protein/fat contents and pH/thiobarbituric acid reactive substance values due to their different processing technologies and added ingredients. The Nε-carboxymethyllysine (CML) and Nε-carboxyethyllysine (CEL) concentrations varied from 3.67 to 46.11 mg/kg and from 5.89 to 52.32 mg/kg, respectively, and the NAs concentrations ranged from 1.35 to 15.88 µg/kg. The contents of some hazardous compounds, such as CML, N-nitrosodimethylamine, and N-nitrosopiperidine, were observed to be higher in the fermented sausages than in the cooked sausages. Moreover, levels of NAs in some sausage samples exceeded the limit of 10 µg/kg issued by the United States Department of Agriculture, suggesting that particular attention should be paid to mitigating NAs, especially in fermented sausages. The correlation analysis suggested that the levels of AGEs and NAs were not significantly correlated in both kinds of sausages.