Phosphates as food additives in meat and meat products in North Macedonia

Abstract

Phosphates are used as food additives by meat processing industries to improve the technological properties of the products. However, phosphates can have adverse effects on human health so their use is regulated by law setting the maximum allowable level of phosphates in a meat product. This study evaluates the total phosphorus contents in meat and meat products placed on the Macedonian market in the previous five years. The results showed that a significant number of analysed meat products contained more than 5000 mg/kg total phosphorus as P2O5. However, it must be stressed that for the time being there is no analytical methodology available capable of distinguishing the naturally present phosphates from the added ones.