Meats Gone Bad: Industrial Preservation Methods

This is one of those items I always check for when looking at processed and (unfortunately) plastic-wrapped meats to buy: nitrites.

As a rule, I generally avoid chemicals whose effects I don't know - which is most chemicals with long names.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrites

Sodium nitrite is used for the curing of meat because it prevents bacterial growth and, in a reaction with the meat's myoglobin, gives the product a desirable dark red color. Because of the toxicity of nitrite (the lethal dose of nitrite for humans is about 22 mg per kg body weight), the maximum allowed nitrite concentration in meat products is 200 ppm. Under certain conditions, especially during cooking, nitrites in meat can react with degradation products of amino acids, forming nitrosamines, which are known carcinogens.

Nitrosamines are produced from nitrites and secondary amines, which often occur in the form of proteins. Their formation can occur only under certain conditions, including strongly acidicconditions such as that of the human stomach. High temperatures, as in frying, can also enhance the formation of nitrosamines. These cooking styles may be responsible for thousands of cases of colon cancer per year across the world.They may be prepared by the Liebermann's reaction

Nitrosamines are found in many foodstuffs, especially beer, fish, and fish byproducts, and also in meat and cheese products preserved with nitrite pickling salt. The U.S. government established limits on the amount of nitrites used in meat products in order to decrease cancer risk in the population. There are also rules about adding ascorbic acid or related compounds to meat, because they inhibit nitrosamine formation.

Nitrosamines can be found in tobacco smoke and latex products. A test of party balloons and condoms indicated that many of them release small amounts of nitrosamines. However, nitrosamines from condoms are not expected to be of toxicological significance. [1]

Nitrosamines can cause cancers in a wide variety of animal species, a feature that suggests that they may also be carcinogenic in humans. Epidemiological data supports a positive association between nitrite and nitrosamine intake and gastric cancer, between meat and processed meat intake and gastric cancer and oesophageal cancer, but the studies are inconclusive. [2]

Given that there is a possibility or probability that nitrites lead to cancer, following the precautionary principle, I avoid buying foods with nitrite in it. This includes deli meats. Most deli meats in plastic at Safeway are preserved with nitrites and nitrates. I don't eat much red meat so this doesn't concern me too much, but why take more risk?

The occasional meat which doesn't is lean white turkey meat. The processor uses natural celery-based preservative instead.

Drying and salting meat has been done for centuries. Of course, these take more time and effort than doing a quick nitrite marinade. Take care to know what's in your meat, who you buy it from, where they buy it from, and its effects on your health and the planet.