Sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate are chemicals added by manufacturers to processed or cured meat products, like deli meats, hot dogs, jerky, sausages and bacon.
These food additives are included for a variety of reasons: to add color or shine, stabilize artificial flavors and extend shelf life. More than 10,000 food additives are allowed for use in food sold in the U.S.
Sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate are often used by meat and poultry manufacturers as preservatives and to give cured meats their pink or red color. Without sodium nitrite, hot dogs and bacon would look gray. Sodium nitrate is generally used in higher heat or longer-cured meats.
When added to processed foods in this way, nitrite can form nitrosamines in the body, which can increase your risk of developing cancer.
Nitrite, which is also found in saliva and forms from nitrate in several vegetables, can undergo the same chemical reaction in the stomach. Some companies now add ascorbic acid or erythorbic acid to bacon to inhibit cancer-causing nitrosamines from forming.
Potential health harms
Although the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture allow the use of these additives, multiple studies link the overconsumption of sodium nitrite and nitrate to cancer, higher risks of neurological diseases and heart diseases.
Sodium nitrite and nitrate in processed meats have been linked to cancer by the World Health Organization, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified processed meat as “probably carcinogenic to humans.” Studies show that consuming nitrites and nitrates may also cause hypertension and reproductive toxicity.
The meat industry justifies its use of sodium nitrite and nitrate by claiming they prevent or slow the growth of bacteria. That’s true, but alternatives can prevent the growth of harmful bacteria without increasing the risk of cancer. One of these options was developed by the USDA using lactic-acid-producing bacteria.
Because of the health risks associated with eating sodium nitrite and nitrate, and the fact they are mostly used in salty and fatty foods – already good to avoid for health reasons – consumers are better off avoiding nitrite-preserved meats.
Why are harmful sodium nitrite and nitrate legal for use in food?
Questionable additives, including nitrites and nitrates, continue to be allowed in the food we eat because of the outdated FDA “generally recognized as safe,” or GRAS, loophole.
The purpose of the rule was to allow ingredients, such as vinegar, to skip regulatory approval only if they’re known to be safe. But the loophole allows manufacturers to certify their own ingredients as safe rather than submitting them to the FDA for approval.
Since 2000, nearly 99 percent of new food chemicals added to the food supply chain have exploited the GRAS loophole.
Even when the FDA does assess chemicals for safety, it has been extremely slow and rarely reevaluates earlier decisions, even when new science is available. The FDA and USDA last formally reviewed the safety of sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate in food in the 1980s.
The European Union set stricter limits on the use of sodium nitrite in meat products after it was reassessed, in 2017. By contrast, the FDA has repeatedly failed to act when it comes to reassessing and regulating potentially harmful food ingredients.
In the absence of federal action, states have stepped up to protect their consumers from harmful additives.
