Recently, paarticular attention has been focused on nitrite cured meat with the reasoning that this is the major use of nitrite in foods and carcinogenic nitrosamine may be formed under certain conditions by reaction of nitrite with certain amines. 香腸製造上,為發色之目的添加亞硝酸鹽(Nitrite)或硝酸鹽(Nitrate)於醃漬肉中後分別以-15℃,5℃及25℃貯存,以使調昧料平均地浸透。在貯存期間,亞硝酸鹽及硝酸鹽之消長與溫度及寄生於肉中之微生物量有關,溫度高時微生物繁殖較速,硝酸還元酵素系之活性亦高, 25℃下保存之醃漬肉之亞硝酸鹽及硝酸鹽急減,於25小時內分別約減少78%及55%,相對地約有減少之亞硝酸鹽量之15%氧化成為硝酸鹽,減少之硝酸鹽之約5%以亞硝酸態存在。於-15℃及5℃之低溫,品溫較高之初期,硝酸鹽及亞硝酸鹽之消長亦較快,然於10小時後趨向平穩。 亞硝酸鹽與硝酸鹽共用時(全量1000ppm),硝酸鹽之減少速度較緩慢,亞硝酸鹽之殘存量亦相當高,於25℃時, 25小時內,亞硝酸鹽之含量高至原加量之1.5倍,然於70小時後降至原量之一半。 肉之種類與亞硝酸鹽之殘留量有關,紅色肉之pH值在供試品中較白色肉高約0.37~0.42,在未調整pH值之下,紅肉一般比白肉亞硝酸根含量高26~29ppm, -15℃與5℃比較, 5℃者含量高,然溫度對紅白肉中亞硝酸根之含量差之影響甚微。