112 Corresponding author: Omar Aoun. Tel. 213 (775882280). Email: omar.aoununiv-

1 Introduction The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA, 2010) has alerted about the possible existence of methemoglobinemia risk in children, due to overconsumption (>1 portion a day) of spinach |1]. Although, in recent years, a new opinion on a possible protective effect of nitrates against cardiovascular disease has been reported in the literature [2, 3], other authors continue to warn about the potential risk linked with excessive ingestion of nitrates [4, 5] and against the revision of...