MONITORING OF NITRATE CONTENT IN POTATOUS FROM BULGARIAN MARKET

The potatoes are common food for people of all ages and very often are used in Bulgarian kitchen as the main component of core dishes and also separately under different types of salad. The aim of this article is to give information about the nitrate content in potatoes from the commercial chain in Bulgaria. The monitoring has been conducted during June, July, and August. The measurements of NO3- ions were carried out with a Greentest appliance, Model ECO 5. The samples from the conducted monitoring were with higher NO3- content for the fresh potatoes that have been accepted and recommended from EU as a healthy one. The highest content of NO3- in fresh potatoes were 645 mg/kg measured for June, 340 mg/kg for August, and 500 mg/kg for fresh potato produces from BG measured in August, at the accepted safety level 250 mg/kg. The red potatoes were with average of 287 mg/kg nitrate levels. The amount of nitrates is not eliminated during cooking processes, so that results are warning that the food from the commercial chain can be not enough healthy, especially for infants