The dietary intake of nitrates and nitrites in foods can vary greatly from region to region depending on factors such as farming practices, climate, soil quality, manufacturing processes and
legislation. Nitrate and nitrite contents of foods are not available in Australia; hence values from overseas are commonly used. Due to the growing concern of N-nitroso compounds, accurate and robust methods are necessary for long-term monitoring of nitrate and nitrite concentrations in foods for susceptible populations.