Key Questions to Ask When Ordering Sodium Nitrate Powder

Most packaged foods you buy at the grocery store are made with additives to preserve freshness, maintain flavor, and prolong shelf life. But you may not know exactly how these additives affect your health.

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Sodium nitrate (and its cousin additive sodium nitrite) is a common preservative used in cured meat products including bacon, deli meat, and jerky. It has been linked to the development of heart disease and diabetes. This additive has been cut out from some foods due to these concerns.

Purpose and Functions

Sodium nitrate and nitrite are added to processed and cured meats to preserve shelf life and to give them flavor and a pink color. Nitrates and nitrites are also found in vegetables such as celery and spinach, and as contaminants in tap water.

The human body needs nitrates and nitrites. These additives serve an important bodily function. Your body breaks down nitrates into nitrites, which it then converts into either nitric oxide or nitrosamines.

‌Most of our nitrates and nitrites come naturally from vegetables. In fact, around 85% of the nitrates and nitrites in our diet come from vegetables.

Nitric oxide. This molecule is a huge supporter of heart health in your body. Many nitrate and nitrates and, consequently, nitric oxide come from vegetables. So it makes sense that a vegetable-based diet is better for your heart in the following ways:

• Nitric oxide protects against cardiovascular disease.
• It lowers blood pressure.
• It improves blood flow.

Nitrosamines. This compound is at the heart of why nitrates and nitrites are considered toxic. Nitrosamines are a carcinogen, or a cancer-causing substance. They are found everywhere in our environment, including the air and water. They are also in certain drugs. Yet nitrosamines earned their reputation from the sodium nitrate in our food.‌

When the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that processed meats were carcinogens, it was mostly in regard to the nitrates and nitrites being potentially cancer-causing. This has led to several reactions against the preservatives.

It’s still sodium nitrate. By definition, the use of celery powder in place of chemically processed sodium nitrate makes the product organic. But this doesn’t mean that the organic hot dogs on your grocer’s shelves contain any less sodium nitrate. It’s still used by your body and can become nitrosamines just as easily as a chemically processed sodium nitrate.

Added sodium nitrate has strict limits. Per FDA, sodium nitrite cannot exceed 200 ppm and sodium nitrate cannot exceed 500 ppm in the finished product. The parts per million (ppm) signifies the number of nitrates and nitrites in a curing salt. The rest is sodium chloride (salt):

• Bacon: 120 ppm or 0.012%
• Dry-cured bacon: 200 ppm or 0.02%
• Cured sausage: 156 ppm or 0.%
• Brine-cured ham or pastrami: 200 ppm or 0.02%
• Dry-cured meat product: 625 ppm pr 0.%

Sodium nitrate has limits, celery powder doesn’t. The USDA doesn’t regulate celery salt like it does chemically processed sodium nitrate. The amount of nitrate residue on products with natural sources of nitrates is about 10 times higher than that on than traditionally cured products.‌

Other sodium nitrate substitutes to look out for are juices or powders made from:

• Celery
• Carrots
• Beets
• Spinach

When added to meat products, these derivatives create nitrates that stop bacterial growth just like sodium nitrates and nitrites.

If you want to learn more, please visit our website T&P.

Is Sodium Nitrate Safe?

As of right now, there’s nothing that conclusively shows that sodium nitrates are unsafe. It’s an important compound that your body needs to maintain cardiovascular health. The real culprit seems to be processed meats, not nitrates.

Treat it like any other vitamin compound. There are many vitamins and minerals that are necessary for your health, but in excess can lead to toxicity. Getting nitrates from vegetables rather than the salt of processed meats will provide your body with the healthy compounds it needs.

Rather than worry about the nitrates themselves, worry about where they come from. Processed meats provide you with very little nutritional benefit, while vegetables provide you with healthy carbs and fiber. These natural alternatives also help prevent the conversion of nitrosamines. They help to keep the nitrates and nitrites you eat from becoming carcinogens.

What are Nitrates and Nitrites?

Nitrates and nitrites are short names for “sodium nitrate” and “sodium nitrite” which are forms of salt. Salt (sodium chloride) has been used for thousands of years to preserve meat well before the discovery of refrigeration. Several centuries ago, nitrate and nitrite salts were found in salt by accident and it was soon realized these closely related ingredients helped extend the shelf life (aka. preserve) of meat by preventing rancidity and by also controlling the growth of bacteria. Today, purified nitrate and nitrite are commercially manufactured for many uses from fertilizer to a variety of foods such as cured meats and toothpaste. With a vast amount of research focused to learn more about these two unique salts, several discoveries were made:

1. Nitrite salt is responsible for very effectively improving meat quality and safety;
2. Nitrate salt is inert and must be first converted by bacteria to the form nitrite before it can be helpful for meat quality and safety;
3. When added to meat at the allowed levels set forth by USDA, nitrite completely inhibits Clostridium botulinum growth, almost completely inhibits Clostridium perfringens, and slows the growth of many other pathogenic bacteria such as Listeria monocytogenes;
4. Because biological reactions happen when added to meat products, nitrates and nitrites are classified as curing ingredients by USDA;
5. Because nitrate and nitrite slow almost all bacteria that cause food spoilage and sickness, they are classified as preservatives by USDA.

Dietary Sources of Nitrates and Nitrites?

Much confusion has existed about where our oral intake of nitrate and nitrite actually comes from. There are three main sources of dietary nitrate and nitrite:

1. Most of the nitrate and nitrite we consume is from the nitrate present in leafy vegetables. Nearly all vegetables contain nitrates (ranging from 0.001 to 1.0%) which accumulates in the plant from the uptake of nitrogen in the soil during the growing period. When consumed, a portion of the nitrate from vegetables is converted to nitrite by the bacteria found in our mouth. Other nitrate is swallowed and stored in our body until it is needed. Nearly 80% of the nitrate we consume is from vegetables.
2. Most water contains a very small amount of nitrate and nitrite and depending on the amount you drink, it can be a major source (much more than from processed meats).
3. Cured meat products also serve as a small source (~5% of our total intake) of nitrate and nitrite. Nearly all (~90%) of nitrate and nitrite added to cured meats is broken down and converted to other safe compounds. Levels of nitrate and nitrite present in cured meats at the time of store purchase are usually between 0. and 0.004%.

Is it Safe to Consume Nitrate and Nitrite?

What we know about nitrate and nitrite:

1. Both nitrate and nitrite are substances approved by FDA and USDA for use in foods.
2. Levels of nitrate and nitrite used in meat products are carefully controlled by Federal laws and monitored by the USDA or state government officials.
3.  Pure nitrite, if consumed at levels of ~3-5 grams (equivalent to 6,000-10,000 servings of cured meat eaten at one sitting), can be very dangerous and even cause death because it binds to oxygen in your body stronger than the hemoglobinoxygen binding in your blood thus not allowing oxygen to reach several important organs.
4. Decades of research have shown when nitrate and nitrite are carefully used following prescribed levels regulated by the USDA, these ingredients are completely safe and pose no human health risks whatsoever.
5. Extensive and universally accepted academic research has shown, if careful control of use is not followed, a slight human health risk could exist. For example, if high levels of nitrite exist in foods that are high in protein and are exposed to high temperature (>300°F) cooking, such as bacon frying, very small amounts (parts per billion) of nitrosamines (compounds classified as a carcinogen) could be formed. As a result, bacon curing is carefully controlled (a lower level of nitrite is required, an ingredient (Vitamin C) is added to further reduce any remaining nitrite after product manufacture, and nitrate addition is prohibited so a potential source of additional nitrite isn’t available for nitrosamine reactions).
6. Recent medical research has shown nitrite is critical for maintaining human health by controlling blood pressure, preventing memory loss, and accelerating wound healing. Medical research has also shown that both nitrite and nitrate are continuously being synthesized in our bodies from the amino acid arginine to meet the physiological demands are body needs to maintain homeostasis (good health). This means our bodies actually make our own nitrate and nitrite!

What about Meat Products without Nitrates or Nitrites?

An overabundance of retail meat product options exist in supermarkets today. “Traditional”, “Natural”, and “Organic” are three labeling categories of meat products commonly found yet can provide quite a bit of confusion.

Traditional meat products are those that follow normal labeling standards for any given product classification and description outlined by prescribed labeling requirements published by USDA. Many traditional meat products are required to contain curing ingredients (nitrate and/or nitrite) with strict usage requirements (eg. bacon) or to meet consumer expectations (eg. hams, hot dogs, etc.). Some products are not required in include curing ingredients at all but instead are added by the manufacture by choice (eg. turkey breast). USDA regulations explain when nitrate/nitrite is required, allowed, or prohibited.

Uncured meat products are those that do not contain nitrate or nitrite. Within this category, you can find meat products in stores with the word “uncured” printed on the product label. This describes products traditionally required or expected to contain curing ingredients but allowed to be made without nitrate and nitrite as long as the word “uncured” is added to the package label.

Natural meat products are those manufactured under stricter rules than traditional products which require minimal processing and also do not allow any added artificial coloring, flavoring, or preservatives. Because nitrate and nitrite used for traditional products are made by purification, they are not allowed.

Organic meat products must follow standards established by the National Organic Program and governed by the USDA Organic Foods Production Act regarding practices and substances that may be used for production, processing, and handling of organic foods. Both purified nitrate and nitrite are listed as prohibited ingredients and as such may not be used.

What are “Natural” Nitrates and Nitrites?

Because nitrates and nitrites are considered so important for safety, quality, and health by so many people (the government, scientists, manufactures, and many others), natural sources of these ingredients have been explored, identified, and successfully used to replace purified nitrate and nitrite. Vegetables high in naturally accumulating nitrate and nitrite (such as celery) are now commonly used to cure meat products with a natural, plant-based source for curing. Interesting, there is no difference between purified or plant based nitrate or nitrite. They are the exact same molecules…just from a different source.

Unfortunately, because USDA labeling rules do not yet exist for products cured using plant-based nitrate and nitrite, they are required to be labeled “uncured”. As one would expect, it can be quite confusing to find some products that are labeled “uncured” yet having cured properties such as a pink color. Updated labeling is being planned by USDA to clarify this unfortunate confusion. How can you tell if a meat product is cured using a purified or a natural source? If cured with a purified source, you will seed the words “sodium nitrite” on the label. If cured with a natural source, you will see the words “celery powder” or other similar vegetable ingredients on the label instead.

If you are looking for more details, kindly visit Sodium Nitrate Powder.