So on January 15 I read the Charcutepalooza rules for February and excitedly resolved to cure some bacon. The only barrier was one necessary ingredient: what Michael Ruhlman calls "pink salt", the curing agent that prevents botulism.
Problem is, it's a slightly controlled substance where I live, and civilians (those not employed in restaurants and meat curing facilities) aren't supposed to be able to buy it locally. I understand that there are various packaged meat curing products in some of the Asian grocery stores and in the fabulously well stocked Highland Farms chain, but I wanted to go with a very predictable product and resolved to go online for the well recommended Instacure #1. I ordered some online weeks ago, but, what with northeastern blizzards and some ball-dropping on the part of a supplier I will not name, it has still not been delivered.
So instead, I'm posting some thoughts about sodium nitrite, the main active ingredient in "pink salt"; I'll just have to post a bacon report later. (Update: the bacon report is right here.)
If a substance is regulated by government, you have to wonder whether you want to be eating it, and most consumers have probably heard that "nitrites" are something to be avoided. The benefits of sodium nitrite as a meat additive are that it improves the pinky-red "fresh meat" colour (who cares?) and that it prevents botulism (a biggie!)
"What's with all the 'nitrite free' labels on meat packages these days?" asked Christy Mercer in a November 2007 article in Delicious Living. "When heated above 350 degrees, nitrites in processed meat form nitrosamines, which can be carcinogenic if consumed frequently and in large quantities."
On August 3, 2010, Heidi Blake on the Vancouver Sun reported on a study of 300,000 men and women aged 50 to 71 by the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland that found "sodium nitrite and nitrate, types of salt that are added to meats such as sausages, bacon and packaged ham as part of the curing process, can react with stomach acid to form carcinogenic N-nitroso compounds during digestion. Adults who consumed the highest amounts of nitrate and nitrite were almost 30-per-cent more likely to develop bladder cancer than those who consumed the lowest amount."
On August 27, 2008, Susan Semenak published an article in the Montreal Gazette that mentioned the report entitled Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective, published by the American Institute for Cancer Research and the World Cancer Research Fund in October 2007. Pointing out that the report "is considered the most comprehensive study ever published on the evidence linking cancer risk to diet, physical activity and weight," Semenak writes that "It advised consumers to limit cooked meat to about 500 grams a week. But the panel of experts concluded: 'There is no safe level of consumption' for smoked, cured or salted products such as bacon, ham, hot dogs, sausage and luncheon meats."
She names sodium nitrite as the main culprit among cured meats' health drawbacks, adding that "Research in Sweden found that Swedes who ate on average three ounces of processed meat each day had a 15 per cent greater chance of developing stomach cancer than those who consumed two ounces or less."
Even if you're not eating it, sodium nitrite can harm you. It's interesting to read the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS). If you don't know about MSDSs, they are the straightforward scientific description of the known hazards, health effects and recommended storage and handling instructions for every chemical substance normally used by human beings in industry of various sorts. (Useful to know: you can google the MSDS for just about anything, from cleaning solvents to art supplies.)
The MSDS on sodium nitrite warns that the raw material is a toxic substance that can cause harm if ingested, inhaled or brought into contact with skin or eyes. That's why it's artificially coloured pink in the US: to guard against accidental ingestion. (In Canada it's not always coloured.)
The American Meat Institute (incidentally, the same organization responsible for this jaw-dropping piece of 1950s advertising) has led the charge to balance the public perception of sodium nitrite. A 2005 issue of The National Provisioner reported that sodium nitrite may have some medicinal benefits; following a study carried out by the National Institute for Health on behalf of the AMI, "scientists say they have infused the anti-oxidant sodium nitrite into volunteers to assess its potential as a treatment for sickle-cell anemia, heart attacks, brain aneurysms, and other conditions caused by problems with low oxygen."
Back in January 2001, Gourmet Retailer magazine reported that the AMI was publicizing a study by the National Toxicology Program (NTP) that "shows that sodium nitrite is a safe food additive. ...its findings help lay to rest any concerns about the use of sodium nitrite as a safe curing ingredient. The multiyear study showed that not only did sodium nitrite fail to produce clear evidence of cancer, it actually showed a strong, dose-response reduction of some cancers. The evidence was strong enough that California's Developmental and Reproductive Toxicant Identification Committee voted not to list the curing agent as a developmental toxicant under the state's Proposition 65 law."
Wikipedia lists quite a few other interesting resources at the end of their entry on sodium nitrite. I was especially intrigued by one study that proposes that falling US rates of gastric cancer since the 1930s may be linked to reduced use of nitrites in cured meats.
Not being a scientist, I feel I have to take the arguments on all sides with ... um ... a grain of salt. Knowing how much less cured meat I eat than the average American (or, probably, the average Swede), I feel I'm not likely to be at greatly elevated risk of cancer after consuming a few rashers of bacon. However, I'm not about to start dosing myself with sodium nitrite as a heart-attack remedy either.
As I understand it, Instacure #1 (also known as Prague Powder #1) contains 6.25% sodium nitrite and 93.75% regular salt, and one pound is enough to cure almost 500 pounds of meat. If this is so and if (as I believe), one pound is equal to 453.592 grams, then a one-pound box of Instacure contains about 28 grams of sodium nitrite. If Wikipedia's arithmatic is correct, a 65-kg person could be poisoned by ingesting 4.615 grams. (That's a person weighing just under 145 pounds for our metrically challenged neighbours to the south.)
So the chances of an adult human poisoning themselves with a box of Instacure #1 are not particularly high, but if I were going to store and handle it regularly (especially in a house with small children and pets), I would heed the warnings in the MSDS ("Keep locked up. Keep away from heat. ... Do not ingest. Do not breathe dust. ... Keep container tightly closed.")
Bottom line: botulism can certainly be fatal, whereas many people have lived long lives eating some cured meat, so as soon as my delivery arrives, I'm makin' some bacon. But I will be very careful about how I store and handle my Instacure.
PS: Want to read more? I just found out that Ruhlman himself has posted a similar piece on his site.
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
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Great post, Sarah. Pink salt also gives bacon some of the flavour that distinguishes it from the roast pork. (Obviously, smoking also does a lot of this work.) Another interesting point is that several "traditional" or "natural" bacon preparations substitute celery juice for pink salt in hopes of producing a healthier product. This often backfires because celery juice also contains sodium nitrite but unlike pink salt it is difficult to know and control exactly how much.
ReplyDeleteA question that I think needs some investigation is: Does potassium nitrite (an alternative curing agent) react in the same way to create nitrosamines in the body?
Great info Sarah!
ReplyDeleteAnd I feel for you on the lack of ingredient fail > I was going to play along with the challenge just for the heck of it but I'm still waiting for my duck breast to be delivered for January's challenge! Lord only knows when I'll get around to bacon at this rate but I may be giving you a call about the pink salt.
I think there are health concerns with any thing we put into our body. To me the key is moderation of the things I love and knowing the source. When it comes to bacon I’m not afraid of the nitrate or nitrate in the least with the knowledge that there is less than 1ppm nitrite in the bacon I make and feed to my family. However what really confuses me is with all the concern about nitrate is no one seams to be concerned with the massive amounts of fat and salt in the same processed foods, they are the real health concerns. As well as high amounts of phosphates in commercial products. Also pink salt is not a controlled substance in Canada, it’s also not pink. You can pick it up at Loblaws in the meat section under the label super cure, you can also contact the Yes group or the Canada Compound Company in Toronto and buy direct from them, again under the name super cure. Use in the same quantities as listed in Ruhlman’s book. Any other products such as casings, cultures, molds and netting can be found there as well. I hope your concerns of nitrates and nitrites will not scare you away for a great tradition in food.
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to quickly add that while it’s true, when heated above 350 degrees, nitrites in processed meat form nitrosamines. The fact remains that not many cured meats are made to ever come close to that temperature other than bacon and a few others. You can also make bacon with out nitrites with no worries of spoilage or botulism as long as you keep it refrigerated and insure it is heated above 150f before eating. The concern with botulism comes into play with the ready to eat meats like a black forest ham, something that was cooked cooled and then eaten cold at a later date. The biggest concern comes with the fermented meats. But if done correctly are safer than your leftover roast chicken.
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