# Meats with nitrates ... Dangerous to cook? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 13, 2011, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meats-with-nitrates-dangerous-to-cook/574597 "2011-03-13T23:36:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meats-with-nitrates-dangerous-to-cook/574597/1 "2011-03-13T23:36:22Z")
Obviously, cured meats in general have their own health risks. We’re not talking about steamed broccoli. But is it extra-risky to cook meats cured with nitrates? I ask because we are making our own corned beef for St. Patrick’ Day. We’ve done this many times in the past, but we decided to actually use curing salt this time, instead of just kosher salt and the rest of the pickling ingredients. We didn’t realize there were two different kinds: Prague Powder No. 1 (wih sodium nitrite) and Prague Powder No. 2 (with sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate). The staff at the salt shop suggested we use No. 2. After we got home, we did more research and realized we needed No. 1. We went back and exchanged today. Apparently, No. 2 is used for dry-cured products that hang a long time (summer sausage and some air-dried hams). No. 2 is for everything else. And specifically, much of the literature warns against using No. 2 for things like bacon because exposing the nitrate to high heat can create strong carcinogens. So, most bacon doesn’t have nitrates. But what about other things? I see that traditional prosciutto doesn’t, but some American prosciutto might. One of my favorite recipes is peas and prosciutto. Too dangerous to heat the prosciutto, if I don’t buy Italian? Likewise, do any of the dry sausages like pepperoni or soppressata have nitrates (again, USA made)? Because we like those on pizzas… ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meats-with-nitrates-dangerous-to-cook/574597/2 "2011-03-13T23:44:15Z")
Whether or not nitrates in the levels found in cured meats cause cancer is debatable. Personally, I agree with Harold McGee and Michael Ruhlman, who have looked into the issue extensively. From [Ruhlman’s](http://ruhlman.com/2011/02/meat-curing-safety-issues.html) website: > [@](#): > > The Pink Salt Issue: Is Sodium Nitrite Harmful > > The quick answers: > > —Sodium Nitrite (aka pink salt, which is sold under various names such as DQ Cure #1 and Prague Powder #1) is by regulation 93.75% sodium and 6.25% nitrite. > > —Its fundamental property from a health standpoint is that it kills bacteria that cause botulism in smoked and ground meat. > > —The great advantage of using sodium nitrite is flavor: it’s what makes bacon taste like bacon and not spare ribs, what makes ham taste like ham and not a pork roast, and corned beef like corned beef and not pot roast. > > —You do need to handle it with care because it’s toxic if you ingest it directly. It’s colored pink to prevent accidental ingestion. Keep it out of kids’ reach. According to this link on Oxford University’s site, the exact toxicity is 71 milligrams per kilogram. I weigh nearly 100 kilograms. That means if I ate 7.1 grams, it could kill me (by binding the oxygen carried by my blood to the hemoglobin, making that oxygen unavailable to my cells). That’s about a teaspoon. If you’re a petite 110 pounds, 1/2 teaspoon would be toxic. This article on its toxicity suggest an even lower amount is harmful. Bottom line: Don’t be afraid of it, but keep it well identified, and use it only as a recipe calls for. > > —In the amounts called for in curing meat, and in the amount we commonly eat, it is not harmful in any meaningful way. Indeed, used properly, it’s beneficial. It’s an anti-microbial agent (i.e. kills bad bacteria), and it creates great flavors and appealing color. > > Many think of sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate to be harmful chemical additives and have heard that they can be carcinogenic in certain situations. Here is my position on these issues: > > Nitrates and Nitrites are naturally occurring chemicals that our bodies rely on for a number of reasons. Green vegetables such as spinach and celery are loaded with them. Of all the nitrite in our bodies, as much as 93% of it comes from the nitrate in vegetables. Our bodies naturally convert nitrate into nitrite, which works as a powerful antibacterial agent, particularly in an acidic environment (such as in our stomachs). > > In the 1970s, concerns arose that nitrites could be carcinogenic. Current studies conclude that large quantities (as in contaminated water) can do serious damage, but that the quantities added to food do not. Indeed, as one study put it, “Since 93% of ingested nitrite comes from normal metabolic sources, if nitrite caused cancers or was a reproductive toxicant, it would imply that humans have a major design flaw.”[1] > > And The American Medical Association reports that as of 2004, “given the current FDA and USDA regulations on the use of nitrites, the risk of developing cancer as a result of consumption of nitrites-containing food is negligible.” > > It’s my belief that companies advertising their products as “nitrite-free,” are either uninformed themselves or are pandering to America’s ignorance about what is healthy and what is harmful in our foods. In other words, the term “no nitrites added” is a marketing device, not an actual health benefit. > > Use pink salt in the quantities recommended in the recipes and eat a balanced diet. From [McGee](http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/04/dining/04curi.html?_r=1&ref=dining&oref=slogin): > [@](#): > > Then there’s the ongoing saga of nitrite and nitrate, which give hams, bacon, hot dogs, bologna and other salt-cured meats their special color and tang. Nitrite reacts in the meat tissue to form nitric oxide, which binds tightly to the iron in myoglobin and turns it a stable red. Nitrite is also toxic to many microbes, including the bacteria that cause botulism, so it’s a critical preservative in cured sausages. For centuries meats were treated with a liberal mixture of salt and saltpeter, or sodium nitrate, which bacteria on the meat converted into nitrite. Nowadays manufacturers generally use very small quantities of pure nitrite, or a mixture of nitrite and nitrate. > > In the 1970s, the nitrite and nitrate in cured meats fell under the suspicion that they might cause cancer. Later research showed that we get far more of these chemicals from vegetables like celery, spinach and lettuce. Their abundant nitrate comes from the soil and is turned into nitrite by bacteria living in our mouths. > > Nevertheless consumers remain wary of nitrite-cured meats. And United States Department of Agriculture regulations forbid the use of pure nitrate or nitrite in foods labeled “natural” or “organic.” > > So ingenious manufacturers figured out how to replace the pure chemicals with a mix of nitrate-rich vegetable extracts and bacterial cultures that convert the nitrate into nitrite. (Celery-juice powder, for one, is especially rich in nitrate and has little flavor of its own.) As a result, natural and organic hot dogs that once were quite drab are starting to look better. > > According to a review from the American Meat Science Association, recent studies at Iowa State University show that careful formulation and processing can produce vegetable-cured hot dogs and hams that are quite similar to their nitrite-cured models in color and flavor. They are not, however, free of nitrites or nitrates, no matter what the label suggests. > > But prosciutto di Parma and some other premium long-cured hams are indeed nitrite-free — they’ve been made for centuries with nothing added but salt. So how do they come by their lovely color? The usual explanation has been that sea salt contains enough nitrate impurities to stabilize the myoglobin. Not true. Chemists in Japan and Denmark have recently demonstrated that pure salt, the chemical machinery of pig muscle, and the passage of time collaborate to break apart the original myoglobin and create a new pigment out of the pieces, with iron’s central role taken over by naturally occurring zinc. > > Why would 18 salty months do that, and leave pig flesh not cadaverous but rosy? Another little miracle. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meats-with-nitrates-dangerous-to-cook/574597/3 "2011-03-14T00:36:45Z")
However, according to [Mayo Clinic](http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sodium-nitrate/AN02119) maybe not so good for heart disease risk, based mainly on information from [this article](http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/short/121/21/2271). > [@](#): > > Red meat intake was not associated with CHD (n=4 studies; relative risk per 100-g serving per day=1.00; 95% confidence interval, 0.81 to 1.23; P for heterogeneity=0.36) or diabetes mellitus (n=5; relative risk=1.16; 95% confidence interval, 0.92 to 1.46; P=0.25). Conversely, processed meat intake was associated with 42% higher risk of CHD (n=5; relative risk per 50-g serving per day=1.42; 95% confidence interval, 1.07 to 1.89; P=0.04) and 19% higher risk of diabetes mellitus (n=7; relative risk=1.19; 95% confidence interval, 1.11 to 1.27; P\<0.001). Associations were intermediate for total meat intake. ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meats-with-nitrates-dangerous-to-cook/574597/4 "2011-03-14T01:03:21Z")
Thanks for the Ruhlman quotes; I appreciate his work generally. However, still looking for more on the nitrate-heat issue. Is it a real risk? Do nitrates still exist in cured meats by the time they reach market, or have they all been converted to nitrites? Or is sautéed spinach even deadlier than fried nitrate-cured meat? ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meats-with-nitrates-dangerous-to-cook/574597/5 "2011-03-14T09:33:03Z")
I’ve never heard of any particular health risk from nitrates; it’s nitrites, and the formation of nitrosamines during frying, that has always been the slam against cured meats. There are federal limits on nitrite in meats for this reason. ---
**Author:** ![sandstorm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@sandstorm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandstorm)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meats-with-nitrates-dangerous-to-cook/574597/6 "2011-06-30T05:20:27Z")
greetings to all! i’m so happy to have found this page… i’m really hesitant to use nitrates in my recipes but my situation now calls for it and i’m hoping that someone can help me… i’m a supplier of packed meals but i never used nitrates before… but a client wants a variety of cooked meat and vegetable recipes packed in microwavable containers that can last for a week in a chiller (not freezer)… is this possible? i don’t know what to do but i don’t want to miss this opportunity… HELP PLS… 😕 ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meats-with-nitrates-dangerous-to-cook/574597/7 "2011-06-30T12:14:22Z")
I want to be the one to make a “nitrates also are responsible for the ability to store zombies long-term” comment but it’s only been a few months. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_umlaut_for_U)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meats-with-nitrates-dangerous-to-cook/574597/8 "2011-06-30T12:42:32Z")
Nitrate can convert to nitrite in fermented meats such as summer sausage and Lebanon bologna. Also, have you ever made soup when the meaty bits turned pink? Or had roasted pork or chicken turn pink? The first can come from nitrates in spinach or similar vegetables, the latter from nearby vegs, or even from NOx in natural gas. Unless you’re an infant with the slightly differing hemoglobin they have, or you & yours are pregnant, or nitrites are a migraine trigger for you, don’t worry too much. Nitrosamine formation is catalysed under high, dry heat, IIRC. Avoid that if possible, but it’s a slightly overrated fear. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meats-with-nitrates-dangerous-to-cook/574597/9 "2011-06-30T15:12:00Z")
If I understand this, the whole idea is to get nitrates to break down into nitrites in meat. I just saw an ad for hot dogs that claimed to be all natural with no added nitrates, but then in small print there was a note that they included celery juice. Celery juice is high in nitrates. I have heard that nitrates are dangerous, and shouldn’t be used in foods that don’t have sufficient time for them to break down. But I don’t know any of the underlying reasons for that. Anyway, I do all may curing with just salt and sugar, no nitrates, no nitrites. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2011, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meats-with-nitrates-dangerous-to-cook/574597/10 "2011-07-02T11:34:23Z")
Just saw this relevant article in today’s NY Times: [What’s Inside The Bun?](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/02/business/02hotdog.html?_r=1&hp)