Incidencia del consumo de nitritos y nitratos en la población de la provincia de Imbabura

Abstract

Nitrites and nitrates are additives widely used within the food industry in Imbabura; hence, raising the interest in analyzing the incidence of consumption in the population of this province. Due to the health emergency (COVID - 19), it was decided to use the online Google Forms surveys as the technical data collection instrument of this research. The obtained results evidenced the high demand for processed foods that contain nitrites and nitrates as additives; especially, in the young-adult age group. Additionally, a notorious problem is the lack of knowledge in the population about what they consume, which could trigger health issues in the future. There are researches that affirm that excessive consumption of this type of additives can cause health issues including methemoglobinemia or the formation of nitrosamines.