Sodium nitrite assures cured meat safety.

As you know, sodium nitrite (SN) is an important antimicrobial ingredient used to ensure the safety of ready-to-eat meat products. It is well established that adding SN to processed meat products prevents the growth of and toxin formation by C. botulinum. The FDA and USDA have deemed sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate, or the combination of the two, as safe to use as a preservative for meat and poultry at specific, regulated levels. By law, the curing process must result in no more than 200 parts per million of sodium nitrite in the finished meat or poultry product.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control estimates there are 58 cases of foodborne botulism in the United States each year. However, these cases are exclusively related to products that have not been cured with SN. Since SN was approved for use in meat products in 1925, there have been no cases of botulism associated with nitrite-cured meats in the United States, we're told.

Nitrite also may have inhibitory effects against other important foodborne microorganisms, such as L. monocytogenes, E. coli, Enterobacter, Flavobacterium, Micrococcus and Pseudomonas. The USDA-ARS pathogen modeling program indicates that the time required to reach a level of concern for L. monocytogenes in a fully cooked sausage doubles when SN is added at 150 ppm.

In addition to nitrite's role as an antimicrobial additive to food, it also plays an important protective role in the human body. Endogenous, salivary nitrate is the primary source of nitrite ingestion, and it has an important biological function. The nitrite ingested from the saliva augments the bactericidal properties of acidic gastric secretions, an element of innate immunity. Research suggests that this confers enhanced protection from infection by many ingested pathogens such as Salmonella, L. monocytogenes, E. coli O157:H7, Campylobacter, Yersinia and H. pylori.

Further information. Douglas Archer, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Florida, P.O. Box 110370, 359 FSHN Bldg., Gainesville, FL 32611; phone: [phone]; fax: [phone]; email: [e-mail].