Sodium nitrate(NaNO3 ) and its close relativesodium nitrite(NaNO2 ) arepreservativesthat you find in lots ofprocessed meats . Stuff like salami , spicy heel , pepperoni , Bologna sausage , ham , bacon and Spam all normally contain Na nitrate as one of the component . sweet substance generally do not contain any added chemical substance , so the question is , " Why is atomic number 11 nitrate added to all of these processed centre ? "

There are two reasons for adding these chemicals to processed heart and soul :

The jury is out on how harmful these substances are . Sodium nitrite reacts with abdomen superman and other chemicals in the stomach to producenitrosamines , which have been shown to causecancerin creature when consumed in large quantity . However , there ’s not much sodium nitrate / nitrite in meat , and we down Na nitrate / nitrite from other foods as well , so it is not clear that they are harmful in the measure we get from meats . Some people recommend that small children and pregnant woman avoid these chemicals altogether just to be safe . Since neither give the axe wimp nor tuna have any redness to protect , they mostly do not containnitrates .

Food stocked shelves in retail supermarket.

Sodium Nitrate FAQ

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