Vegetables and Fruits Kwang Soon Shin and Sok Namkung
Department of Nutrition Seoul Health Junior College
Vegetables and fruits purchased from several markets in Seoul from July to October in 1977 were analyzed to know the level of nitrate-and nitrite-nitrogen accumulation in relation to a public health.
Radishes and chinese cabbages utilized mainly as pickled vegetables in Korea resulted in the highest concentration of nitrate-nitrogen. Some of the levels for radishes and chinese cabbages were notably high and exceeded a recommended upper limit of 300 ppm No3-N, and thus these levels would render these samples unsafe for use. The levels in some of vegetables other than radish and chinese cabbage, e.g., spinach, lettuce, green onion, cabbage were relatively high and considered to be unsafe for use in feeding infants, where as those of green pepper, bean sprouts and parsely were very low and safe. And also the levells in fruits were very low and safe.
Nitrite-nitrogen contents in all tested vegetables and fruits ranged to trace and appeared not to be accumulated in fresh vegetables and fruits.
Stems and roots of radishes and chinese cabbages accumulated approximately 2 fold more nitrate-nitrogen than leaves in 5 samples of each vegetable tested.
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