Hygienic assessment of the impact of N-nitrosamines in their total intake into the body of young children

Introduction. N-nitrosamines are priority potentially hazardous contaminants occurring in some food products; they pose a considerable threat for health in infants and toddlers. The valid standards substantiated per levels of carcinogenic risk regulate contents of two such compounds. However, it is necessary to accomplish complex assessment of impacts exerted by all identified N-nitrosamines at lower doses considering their non-carcinogenic effects. This will provide a more comprehensive approach to assessing risks associated with their intake with food products.

The aim of the study was to assess the impact of N-nitrosamines at their total intake with canned meat in infants and toddlers.

Materials and methods. The study involved Wistar rats (aged 4–8 weeks). The experiment animals were divided into a control group (standard fodder) and two test groups (canned meat). We estimated biochemical blood indices (AST, ALT, GGT, bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase) and histological state of the liver, dose-dependent effects. Statistical analysis included the Mann – Whitney U-test and regression analysis.

Results. After a 28-day experiment, levels of biochemical indices turned out to be significantly higher in the test groups against the control (p < 0.05). Regression analysis confirmed an association between levels of exposure to N-nitrosamines and elevated levels of biomarkers of effect (R² for GGT = 0.725, p < 0.000001). Histology of the liver found a growing number of Kupffer cells (p < 0.05), which are markers of inflammatory response. We established model parameters for describing a relationship between likelihood of increased markers of the effect and the total dose of N-nitrosamines. Tolerable daily intake (TDI) was determined based on the study findings; it was equal to 0.00175 µg/kg of body weight, ensuring safety, taking into account the carcinogenic risk criterion.

Limitations. The obtained results are applicable exclusively to canned meat for infants and toddlers and cannot be extrapolated onto other food products or age groups.

Conclusion. The experiment results obtained by using markers of effects were also confirmed by histological studies. This indicates that the established regression parameters and TDI can be employed in quantification of health risks for infants and toddlers considering non-carcinogenic effects.

Compliance with ethical standards. The study was approved by the local ethics committee of the Rospotrebnadzor’s (Meeting Report No. 2 dated February 20, 2018) and conducted in conformity with the conventional research principles stated in the WMA Declaration of Helsinki (as of edited in 2013).

Contribution:
Suvorov D.V. – concept and design of the study, collection of literature data, statistical analysis, writing text;
Zaitseva N.V., Shur P.Z., Zemlyanova M.A. – concept of the study, editing.
All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Funding. The study had no sponsorship.

Received: April 3, 2025 / Revised: May 19, 2025 / Accepted: June 26, 2025 / Published: July 31, 2025

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