To elucidate some of the areas mentioned above for which sufficient
data is lacking we set up the following aims for the present
study: (1) to examine the effect of the ingoing amount of nitrite on
the amount of NA formed during the production of a cooked sausages;
(2) to examine whether the formation of NA in the nitrite
cured cooked sausages is affected by the presence of a water soluble
(erythorbic acid) and a fat soluble antioxidant (ascorbyl palmitate),
fat content, tripolyphosphate or black pepper; (3) to examine
which concentrations of the two mentioned antioxidants that
resulted in the most efficient inhibition of the formation of NA
and if a combination of the two provides a higher degree of protection
against NA formation than just one of them; (4) to examine
whether haem or free iron play a role in the formation of NA in
cooked sausages as has been suggested for the endogenous NA formation.
In order to examine the effect of each individual factor,
possible interactions between them and to work with at realistic
number of experimental setups, factorial designs were employed