Nitrate (NO<sub>3</sub><sup>–</sup>) and nitrite (NO<sub>2</sub><sup>–</sup>) levels of a total 1195 samples of nine different vegetables (lettuce, potato, cabbage, carrot, string beans, tomato, cucumber, cauliflower and pepper) collected at several locations of an intensive agricultural area in Slovenia were analysed during a period of 13 years. The content of NO<sub>2</sub><sup>–</sup> and NO<sub>3</sub><sup>–</sup> ions in commercial mature samples was determined using a segmented flow analyser. The average NO<sub>3</sub><sup>–</sup> content was the highest in lettuce (962 mg/kg), cabbage (795 mg/kg), string beans (298 mg/kg), carrot (264 mg/kg), cauliflower (231 mg/kg), potato (169 mg/kg) and was moderately high in cucumber (93 mg/kg) and pepper (69 mg/kg). A low NO<sub>3</sub><sup>–</sup> content was found in tomato (2<sup>–</sup> did not exceed 0.5 mg/kg, with the exception of potato (1.08 mg/kg). Six samples of lettuce exceeded the maximum permissible level of NO<sub>3</sub><sup>–</sup> according to current European Union (EU) legislation. Based on the results of our investigation, we assessed the approximate daily intake (DI) of NO<sub>3</sub>– and NO<sub>2</sub><sup>–</sup> to human body. The results indicated that with the consumption of potato, the daily intake per inhabitant is close to the acceptable DI permitted in EU.
Development of Spectral Sensors for Nitrite Content in Edible Bird’s Nest
