Element concentration and fatty acid composition of Serbian bee bread

The element concentration (Cu, Fe, Zn, Mn, Cr, Co, Ni, Se, K, Na, Ca and Mg), heavy metal concentration (Cd, Hg, Pb and As) and fatty acid composition of 12 Serbian bee bread samples from different geographical origins were examined. The element concentration was examined using ICP-MS, and total lipids for fatty acid determination were extracted from homogenized bee bread samples with hexane/isopropanol mixture by accelerated solvent extraction. Potassium was the major element, ranging between 5515 +/- 361.20 mg/kg and 7487 +/- 381.50 mg/kg. The highest As and Pb concentrations were found in bee breads from Lazarevac. This bee bread also contained the highest level of PUFA and SFA. Also, the n-6/n-3 ratio ranged between 0.86 +/- 0.28 and 1.40 +/- 0.05, indicating bee bread can be a good source of unsaturated fatty acids. Bee bread could be useful in monitoring environmental contamination by heavy metals (Cd, Hg, Pb and As), although complex studies of all bee products give sufficient information on this topic

The nitrite content in domestic and foreign cooked sausages from the Serbian market

The nitrite content (expressed as NaNO2) was measured in 236 samples of different types of domestic and foreign cooked sausages from the Serbian market, according to standard ISO procedure. The highest content of nitrite (expressed as NaNO2) was found in fine comminuted cooked sausages from foreign producers. Similarly, the coarse comminuted cooked sausages from foreign producers contained higher nitrite compared to domestically produced cooked sausages. According to National and EU Regulations, the maximum allowed nitrate content (expressed as NaNO2) is 150 mg/kg. All tested cooked sausages had nitrite levels below the regulatory limits set by National Regulation and Regulation (EC) No. 601/2014, but the highest nitrite contents were found in cooked sausages from foreign producers