Controversies Of Using Sodium Nitrate In Processed Food

Most people can agree that processed food such as bacon is delicious for its taste and smell but what gives it those characteristics? A chemical preservative known as sodium nitrate is the substance that allows processed foods to have those specific qualities. At first, sodium nitrate may seem like a positive factor in those types of food but there have been many controversies about it concerning health issues. Based on some specific studies and organizations, the use of sodium nitrate as a preservative have resulted in cases of cancer. Despite the controversies, when it comes down to whether sodium nitrate has more benefits or disadvantages, for many reasons the benefits would be more likely. To debate the use of sodium nitrate in processed

The purpose of this background information is to help readers gain the knowledge of what the purpose of using sodium nitrate in processed food is, how and why the controversies of it being a health hazard started, clarifications as to what specific processed foods have sodium nitrate, and some facts about sodium nitrate. It will also help the reader understand that although there are many health issues regarding sodium nitrate, as Densie Webb states consumers cannot avoid nitrates because “80 percent of the nitrates in our diet come from vegetable[s], such as celery, greens, beets. . . .Only six percent come from cured meats” (Putting Nitrates into Perspective). Examples of cured meats are bacon, sausages, and beef jerky. As mentioned earlier, sodium nitrate gives certain processed foods a unique taste and smell but that is not just all that it provides. According to Webb, “Nitrates (in the form of sodium nitrates) are added to most processed meats to “cure” or preserve them, giving them their characteristic color and taste, while preventing contamination (Putting Nitrates into Perspective). The first incident where nitrate started developing issues as Sullivan et al. deliberated on “reports of cyanosis caused by nitrate and bacterial-contaminated well water and (Comly, 1945) and later with the possible formation of carcinogenic N-nitrosamine compounds in cured meats (Crosby, 1976)” (Meat Science). To define some terms, cyanosis is a blue to purple discoloration on the skin and carcinogenic N-nitrosamine compounds are nitrosamines that are formed from a group of carcinogens that have been identified as a cause to cancer. As time went by, after sodium nitrate was used for processed foods, Putting Nitrates into Perspective states that