Table 3.

Mean levels and range (mg kg⁻¹) for nitrate and nitrite in some fruits and vegetables.

Kind of fruit	Samples	Nitrate		Nitrite
		Mean	Min–Max	Mean	Min–Max
Watermelon	20	26.61a	13.95–37.7	5.5a	3.1–8.5
Cantaloupe	14	58.98b	23–103	28.36b	4.6–57.5
Melon	21	33.64a	16.28–72.5	7.65a	3.7–16.7
Tomatoes	21	7.82a	3.19–12.98	1.81a	<LOD–2.93
Cucumber	29	42.7a	12.32–88.6	9.03a	2.8–18.5

^a,bLeast squares means within the same row without a common superscript differ (P < 0.05).