Background:
Nitrate and nitrite can get into the body through the consumption of contaminated water either
directly or indirectly. The accumulation of these compounds in the body, in the long run, leads to health problems, for
example, digestive disorders, cancers, and even death threats in children. The aim of this review is to investigate nitrate and
nitrite pollution levels in drinking water and fruit juices in Iran.
Methods:
In this review data were collected through searching the Scientific Information Database, Science-Direct, Scopus,
PubMed, Google Scholar, and Magiran databases using the keywords Nitrate, Nitrite, Drinking water, Drinking Water
Resources, Juice and Iran. Finally, the location of the studies was geocoded through the Google My Maps
(https://www.google.com/mymaps) software.
Results:
Studies clearly indicated that the juices are safe in terms of nitrate. Nitrate and nitrite values were less than the
national and international standards in all samples of bottled drinking water except for a few of the studies. The results of
the reviewed studies also indicated that the nitrate content was higher than that written on the label in 96% of the samples,
and nitrite was not labeled in 80% of them. The nitrate quantity was higher than the permissible limit, in the water
distribution network of Bushehr, Gilan and Mazandaran Provinces. Talesh, Ardabil, Hashtgerd, Divandareh, and Kerman
cities had high nitrate levels in more than 50% of wells.
Conclusion:
Using nitrogen fertilizers and lack of a wastewater treatment system were the main reasons for the presence of
nitrate and nitrite.
Relevance of nitrate and nitrite in dry-cured ham and their effects on aroma development