A rapid and simple method was developed for the determination of nitrite and nitrate in meat products. Microwave assisted extraction was employed to greatly reduce the sample preparation time, followed by C18 and IC-Ag solid phase extraction to simultaneously eliminate protein, fat, and chloride anion from salt in sample. The extracted analytes were determined by ion-exchange chromatography with non-suppressed conductivity detector. For the nitrite measurements, the relative standard deviation and the recovery in three level standard mixture added to ham and bacon were 1.8 to 7.5% and 84.0 to 94.5%, respectively. The corresponding results for the nitrate were 1.9 to 7.5% and 95.3 to 100.7%, respectively.
