Effects of seasons and parts on volatile N-nitrosamines and their exposure and risk assessment in raw chicken and duck meats.

The N-nitrosamine (NA) concentrations and types in raw chicken and duck meats of different parts and seasons were estimated by headspace solid-phase micro-extraction with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS). The exposure level and hazard quotient of each detected volatile N-nitrosamine (VNA) were conducted. The selected chicken and duck samples were contaminated by VNAs to some extent. The major types and contents of VNAs in different parts of chicken and duck meats varied seasonally. For chicken samples, the order of the total VNA concentrations was as follows: autumn > spring > winter > summer. For duck samples, the order was changed as follows: winter > autumn > summer > spring (thigh samples) and autumn > spring > winter > summer (breast samples). The estimated exposure levels for adults caused by duck consumption were slightly higher than those by chickens, which was consistent with the tendency in 2-3 years old children. According to the linear regression correlation between the 10% benchmark dose limit (BMDL10) and subtriplicate of median lethal dose (LD50), BMDL10 values of each VNA were calculated. Due to this hypothesis, the risk assessments of each detected VNA and total VNAs posed by consuming chicken and duck meats in Tianjin, China were of low concern. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13197-021-05195-1. © Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India) 2021.