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| Bird’s Nest Soup Testing |
SaniChem Resources offers analysis of nitrate and nitrite in Bird’s Nest Soup by ion chromatography (IC). IC is a more sensitive method where a level as low as 0.1 ppm may be detected. Our method involves extracting the nitrate and nitrite from the Bird’s Nest Soup matrices into solution and analysing the solution for nitrate and nitrate and a few other anions such as chloride, sulphate and phosphate. Sample amount required is about 1 gram which should be dry as that is the export requirement. Each sample should be placed in a separate small plastic bag, sealed and labelled before shipping to our laboratory. Depending on our workload, the turnaround time is between one to five days. We also provide moisture content analysis on the Bird’s Nest Soup for export quality compliance using Karl Fischer titration method and bacteria count test.
Why test for Nitrate and Nitrite in Bird’s Nest Soup?
Nitrate (NO3-) and nitrite (NO2-) are naturally occurring ions that are
ubiquitous in the environment. Both are products of the oxidation of nitrogen
by micro-organisms in plants, soil or water and, to a lesser extent, by
electrical discharges such as lightning. Nitrate is the more stable form of
oxidized nitrogen but can be reduced by microbial action to nitrite, which is
moderately reactive chemically. Studies have shown that nitrate are found in
many types of food especially meat products and vegetables. In fact it was
shown that up to 90% of human dietary intake of nitrate come from vegetables
which may contain up to two grams of nitrate per kilogram of vegetables.
Nitrite, on the other hand are generally found in baked food and certain types
of vegetables at much lower level at 2-4 mg per kg food. However, about 20% of
nitrate may be converted to nitrite in the mouth by action of saliva and
bacteria and more will be converted in the stomach. The toxicity of nitrate is
generally due to its reduction to nitrite. Nitrite may react with some amine
compounds to form N-nitroso compounds which were found to cause cancer in
animal study and thus are suspected carcinogens. Based on many studies, health
regulating bodies such as World Health Organization (WHO) has issue the
allowable daily intake (ADI) of nitrate and nitrite to a maximum of 3.7 mg and
0.07 mg per Kg body weight respectively. Thus the allowable daily intake of a
60 Kg human is 222 mg for nitrate and 4.2 mg for nitrate per day. The WHO
allowable limit for nitrite in food is 34 ppm and under the Malaysian Standard
for Bird’s Nest Soup, the allowable limit is set at 30 ppm for nitrite.China has recently adopted an allowable limit of 30 ppm (mg/Kg) of nitrite in imported Bird’s Nest Soup. This limit had been agreed with the Malaysian Government recently. Recent study by the Department of Veterinary Services, Johor(a state in Malaysia) reported that most EBN produced in Johor contain levels of nitrites in excess of the allowable limit. Their finding is summarised in the table below.
It is interesting to note that the percentage of uncleaned EBN containing 0-20 ppm nitrite was 57% while 32% contained 0-160 ppm nitrate. Upon cleaning, the percentage of 0-20 ppm nitrite increased to 62% and 0-160 ppm nitrate level was 81%. Nitrate and Nitrite are naturally occurring ions that can be found abundantly in the environment, including food. Studies have shown that Nitrate and nitrite are found in many types of food such as vegetables, fruit and meat product.
Nitrate and Nitrite
Nitrite is often used as a food additive for preservation and coloring
purposes and the prevention of bacterial growth. Although it is widely used to
cure meat, nitrite, in the presence of secondary amines in food product or in
digestive system, will be converted into Nitroso Compounds and can cause health
problems, including cancer, if ingested in large amounts. However, Nitrite will
not pose serious threats to human health if it is used in accordance with the
standards.Nitrate which always present as sodium nitrate is the more stable form but tend to be oxidized to Nitrite in the existence of bacterial activity and oxygen. Thus, both nitrate and nitrite must be monitored to ensure the quality and safety of meat products.
Nitrite in red Bird’s Nest Soup may be formed naturally. Though, there are patches of circumstances found that a few sellers attempted to turn white Bird’s Nest Soup into red Bird’s Nest Soup to persuade customers who believe the blood-red nests are more nutritious thus increase the higher prices and demand from consumer for the red Bird’s Nest Soup. Unfortunately, adulterated Bird’s Nest Soups often feature excessive nitrite levels.
Heavy Metal
Heavy metal comes from an external sources. Swiflet birds travel around to
acquire foods and drinks. During the process, there are a lot of possibility
for the birds to bring along contaminant to their nests. Other than bacteria,
heavy metal is one of a main concern among Bird’s Nest Soup consumer because
most of heavy metal is very well known to cause cancer.
Bacteria
Since swiflet bird made the nest using its saliva, there are very high
probability for bacterial growth especially the nest will be going to be a
place where the birds live which we can expect fecal from the birds to present.
Because of that, hygienic factor of the Bird’s Nest Soup is the main priority.
Cleaning process must be done very thoroughly to make sure the Bird’s Nest Soups
are clean and edible without affecting health of consumer.
Protein analysis
Protein analysis seems to be unnecessary because protein is not the main
nutrient aimed by the consumer here. Raw Bird’s Nest Soup contain a quite high
amount of protein. A high quality Bird’s Nest Soup should contain a high amount
of protein too.Though, there is a research found that after processing, the protein level decrease so much due to the cleaning process by using hydrogen peroxide, H2O2 as bleaching agent. It does not only eliminate all the bacteria and heavy metals, it also removes the essential sialic acid, minerals, epidermal growth factor and antioxidants. Through protein analysis, we can confirm no bleaching agent was used during the processing and the nutrient level is preserved to the optimum.
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