Nitrite Levels Before and after Washing in Salted Fish

Background: Gastric adenocarcinoma is the fourth most common malignancy worldwide and is globally the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths each year. Salted foods and exposure to H. pylori infection during the infancy have been considered the most important environment risk factors for gastric cancer. Despites increased access to electric energy, allowing the use of refrigerators to better conserve foods, many people keep consuming salted food, by washing them before eating with the intention of reducing salted flavor and also supposing to decrease or avoid risk of diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of reducing nitrites levels in salted fish by washing the fish before consuming, to find if washing salted food should be an efficient measure to reduce, or even avoid, the nitrites related gastric cancer risk.