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The fuzziness here is because nitrates and nitrites are both used for meat curing, and the way the nitrate works is by being turned into the nitrite by bacteria
by djur 4y ago
The fuzziness here is because nitrates and nitrites are both used for meat curing, and the way the nitrate works is by being turned into the nitrite by bacterial action during the cure. Any nitrate that remains in the end product may then be turned into nitrite by gut bacteria. So from a food safety perspective they are really interchangeable. Current regulations in the US allow products made with organic nitrates to be labelled as "uncured" even though the end product would contain nitrites.
- jiveturkey 4y agonot just allowed, required. https://nationalaglawcenter.org/to-cure-or-note-to-cure-groups-petition-usda-labeling-requirements/ https://nationalaglawcenter.org/to-cure-or-note-to-cure-grou... > In the 1990s, manufacturers began developing new ways to cure meats with celery or other natural nitrate/nitrite sources. Federal labeling rules require meats processed in this manner to include the terms “Uncured” and the statement “No Nitrate or Nitrite Added” because they do not use synthetic curing agents. it changed in late 2021 though although i’m not clear by how much