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Sodium Nitrite(E250)

Level 5 — High concernIn Winter's Dictionary4 sources

Sodium Nitrite is a preservative — Curing agent for raw beef color retention

What it does

Curing agent for raw beef color retention

Where you'll see it

raw beef, cured meats

What the research says

Can form carcinogenic nitrosamines [ultra-processed-people] Curing-salt preservative in industrial cured meats. Van Tulleken doesn't specifically attack it for cancer mechanism in this book; rather his wife Dinah recites it from his All-Day-Breakfast ready meal as part of a cluster of ingredients ('Why are you eating diphosphates?') that flag UPF construction. [metabolical] Sodium nitrite reacts with amino acids in meat to form nitrosamines and nitrosoureas — 'among the most potent carcinogens around' — associated with stomach, intestinal, and colon cancer. Processed-meat hazard ratio for diabetes is 1.51 per 50 grams vs 1.12 for unprocessed meat, taking diabetes prevalence in heavy consumers from 10.5% to 28.4%. WHO classified processed meat as Group 1 carcinogen in 2015. [salt-sugar-fat] Curing salt in bologna, ham, hot dogs, bacon, and Lunchables meats; named on Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh ham labels alongside sodium lactate, sodium phosphate, sodium diacetate, and sodium ascorbate.

Benefits

Maintains characteristic color of raw beef

Regulatory status

  • US FDA: GRAS pending
  • EU: approved
  • Notes: ASP; can form nitrosamines

Sources

  • Metabolical (Lustig) — Chapter 20; Chapter 24: nitrates turn into nitrites, which react with amino acids to form nitrosamines, which then react with nitrogen to form nitrosoureas. These are among the most potent carcinogens around
  • Salt Sugar Fat (Moss) — Chapter 13 (The Same Great Salty Taste): Three slices of this meat had 820 milligrams of sodium... sodium lactate, sodium phosphates, sodium diacetate, sodium ascorbate, and sodium nitrite all playing critical roles
  • Ultra-Processed People (van Tulleken) — Chapter 9: How UPF hacks our brains: sodium ascorbate, sodium nitrite, stabilisers (xanthan gum and diphosphates), flavourings
  • A Consumer's Dictionary of Food Additives (Winter): addition to surface of raw beef via migration from packaging film to maintain characteristic color