Re: Sodium nitrite

[Guest guest]

I cannot eat feedlot pork. Any of nitrate/nitrites give me a headache so it is

easy for me to tell. We were given some Whole Farm Coop [locally grown] sausage

with nitrites and rather than throw it away I boiled it in water, threw the

water out and boiled it in water again and threw that out. Then I fried it like

I would sausage and I did not get a headache.

[Guest guest]

This is one of the reasons that I had to disconnect from WFC. Their standards

were not high enough to maintain what we promote as healthy food- even though

it's local. Thanks June. I'm planning to run some hogs with our chickens this

coming year because we can't find local, healthy pork. We've done our own

processing (like Will's sausage) for years, but if you start with conventional

pork- you end up with a net energy loss when you eat it. Will and Jan

(Blackberry Ridge) have great quality pork. We just need to find more like that.

Alvin

June Varner <just@...> wrote: I cannot eat feedlot pork. Any of

nitrate/nitrites give me a headache so it is easy for me to tell. We were given

some Whole Farm Coop [locally grown] sausage with nitrites and rather than throw

it away I boiled it in water, threw the water out and boiled it in water again

and threw that out. Then I fried it like I would sausage and I did not get a

headache.

[Guest guest]

Not sure if any one is familiar with Pasture a Plenty located in

Kerkhoven~ http://www.prairiefare.com/pastureshp.htm. I have been to

their farm a couple of times and have spoken to Jim and LeeAnn

VanDerPol on many occasions. I really like their pork and they have

plenty of nitrate free pork. Jim's sister also raises pastured beef,

although I have not tried any I am sure it is good. They have 4 or so

drop off points in the cities that they deliver to once a month- I just

picked my order up in Roseville yesterday. I am not sure how they

compare to others but for a pound of nitrate free bacon it is $3.85. I

would encourage you to check out their website and try their pork, our

family really enjoys it.

http://duskwindfarm.blogspot.com

[Guest guest]

<snip>

> compare to others but for a pound of nitrate free bacon it is $3.85. I

> would encourage you to check out their website and try their pork, our

> family really enjoys it.

Well, I am afraid to say that it is their bacon and sausage links I

was referring to.

I too really enjoy their pork, and fully expect to enjoy all the great

cuts I bought yesterday. It's the processed meat that I'm concerned

about. I think we'll probably just (slowly) work what we have into our

meals until it is gone, then find another source for bacon and sausage.

Hey Will, do you have any sausage left today! ; )

Peace,

Genie

[Guest guest]

I guess I am not sure I understand are you saying you ordered nitrate

free bacon and sausage and that it is not nitrate free? Because they

do sell bacon that does have nitrates and also that does not. I am

looking at my package of bacon and the ingredients say nothing about

sodium nitrite or phosphate. I do not have any links but they sell

fresh links and smoked links. I try and say away from nitrates so I

would like to know if I am missing something here.

>

> <snip>

> > compare to others but for a pound of nitrate free bacon it is

$3.85. I

> > would encourage you to check out their website and try their

pork, our

> > family really enjoys it.

>

> Well, I am afraid to say that it is their bacon and sausage links I

> was referring to.

>

> I too really enjoy their pork, and fully expect to enjoy all the

great

> cuts I bought yesterday. It's the processed meat that I'm concerned

> about. I think we'll probably just (slowly) work what we have into

our

> meals until it is gone, then find another source for bacon and

sausage.

>

> Hey Will, do you have any sausage left today! ; )

>

> Peace,

> Genie

>

[Guest guest]

> free bacon and sausage and that it is not nitrate free? Because they

> do sell bacon that does have nitrates and also that does not. I am

<snip>

Ah-ha! No, I did not specify nitrite-free in my order. It was my first

experience ordering directly from them, and nowhere on the price list

did I find any mention of nitrites or nitrite-free options, so I did

not know I had to specify.

So as I said, I'll have to chalk this up as a learning experience! I

have emailed them to find out about their nitrite-free options, which

(for some silly reason) didn't occur to me to do until your message,

, so thank you for following up on that!

Cheers!

Genie

[Guest guest]

Great I am glad I could help- but also wanted to make sure I

understood because I am somewhat new to all of this and sometimes an

ingredient goes by a different name and I think I am avoiding it and

in fact I am only being tricked:)

> > free bacon and sausage and that it is not nitrate free? Because

they

> > do sell bacon that does have nitrates and also that does not. I

am

> <snip>

>

> Ah-ha! No, I did not specify nitrite-free in my order. It was my

first

> experience ordering directly from them, and nowhere on the price

list

> did I find any mention of nitrites or nitrite-free options, so I did

> not know I had to specify.

>

> So as I said, I'll have to chalk this up as a learning experience! I

> have emailed them to find out about their nitrite-free options,

which

> (for some silly reason) didn't occur to me to do until your message,

> , so thank you for following up on that!

>

> Cheers!

> Genie

>

[Guest guest]

> I am somewhat new to all of this and sometimes an

> ingredient goes by a different name and I think

> I am avoiding it and

> in fact I am only being tricked:)

>

I've been doing research on Sodium nitrite for article I'm writing for

Wise Traditions. A little preview:

Sodium nitrate and nitrite has always been part of our food and always

will be. It is taken up in plants from the nitrogen and sodium found in

the ground and in the ground water. Certain plants have higher

concentrations of sodium nitrate.

Sea salt has a higher concentration of sodium nitrate (for meat

processing purposes).

That is why sea salt and celery root and juice are often added to

" uncured " meat products. Although sodium nitrate has been added to the

product in the form of vegetables, the USDA forbids the use of the term

" cured " because the sodium nitrate cannot be measured accurately. Most

vegetable additives to uncured meats are not organic and therefore

obtained their nitrates through commercial fertilizer. Only a very small

amount of sodium nitrate is needed for the taste, color and

anti-bacteria effects. That is why the USDA has a very strict, very

small, max allowed and why the sodium nitrate from sea salt and celery

is enough (along with sodium lactate) to create these effects.

Spinach is one of the vegetables found in baby food that can cause

poisoning in infants by excess sodium nitrate.

Sodium nitrate is a naturally occurring compound found in the salt walls

of Chile and in the Mediterranean area and other places. Most food that

was preserved by salting in ancient times also contained sodium nitrate

and very high levels of salt.

Sodium Nitrate is added to foods that are smoked to prevent botulism

which can occur in smoking at low temperatures. In an cool air dried

sausage the bacteria is killed by drying out the meat over a very long

time, hence the need for lots of salt and less bulk is safer, so the

item can dry before the bacteria multiply.

A ham or bacon that is pink colored, cured or labeled uncured has sodium

nitrate in it from some source. One that is gray may not. The gray ham

will usually taste more like pork roast, which is what it is. Often,

but not always the uncured ham or bacon will be very salty as extra salt

is needed to help prevent spoilage (sodium lactate is also used in

these).

Fresh sausage does not ever need to have sodium nitrate added to it.

This is done to extend the shelf life. Same for the rest of the ready

to eat meats such as roast beef, etc. Hot dogs are just a form of

sausage that is smoked, the reason it is added to them is first for

color and flavor and second so we can keep them in the frig and eat them

without actually re-cooking them.

Sodium Nitrate forms dangerous nitrosamines when it is cooked at high

heat, such as when we over cook bacon, like the public is told to do to

" get rid of the fat " . That is the worst thing we can do! If

you do consume bacon with added nitrates from vegetables and sea salt or

from sodium nitrate, then cook it gently and more limp, sorry I love

crunchy bacon too, but especially the well done bacon is the most

dangerous. Frying ham would also potentially create nitrosamines.

Traditional hams were cured for months and even years, today they are

cured in days and this is what necessitates the use of sodium nitrate in

commercial short cured hams.

Below is an excerpt from a great article about artesian hams which you

may want to read if you are into attritional food.

http://www.foodarts.com/Foodarts/FA_Feature/0,,177,00.html

<http://www.foodarts.com/Foodarts/FA_Feature/0,,177,00.html>

" Chefs are often unclear about the difference between nitrates and

nitrites, and about the health implications of both. Nitrates, in the

form of potassium nitrate (saltpeter) and sodium nitrate (also sometimes

called saltpeter), have been intentionally added to cured meat for

centuries and have been present as a natural impurity in curing salts

for millennia. Though many think of them as artificial additives, they

are in fact traditional ingredients. Nitrates help develop the color and

flavor we associate with cured meats like bacon and ham. They also help

prevent rancidity in fats and inhibit the bacterium that causes

botulism. In the late 1800s, scientists discovered that it wasn't

nitrates that were doing the work but rather the nitrites that naturally

occurring bacteria produce from nitrates. Today, producers add nitrites

directly to make their cured products, with the exception of long-cured

products like ham (the nitrites would be consumed well before they could

do their work, since it takes much longer for bacteria to convert added

nitrate to nitrite). In the second half of the 20th century, many people

started worrying about the health consequences of nitrates and nitrites,

which, when heated to high temperatures, can react with certain amino

acids to produce potentially carcinogenic nitrosamines. The residual

nitrite level in a long-cured ham, however, is very low and the

conversion to nitrosamine is unlikely because the hams are cooked

gently, if at all. The risk associated with added nitrate in ham is

negligible.

Hams made without nitrates, like Prosciutto di Parma, get their stable

cured color through the action of specific bacteria. The bacteria are

present in small numbers and take a long time to act. This is why a

long-cured ham can look good without nitrates, but bacon without

nitrites cannot. "

The real problem comes from eating too many foods –mostly

commercially processed meats- where sodium nitrate is added to all of

them. Like lunchmeats, hot dogs, and all deli-meats. When you combine

those extra nitrates with those found naturally in our vegetables

(logically, organic vegetables should have less nitrogen than organic,

but with the push for commercial organics that may not be true anymore),

contaminated water and even beer, you can really overload your system on

a substance that has traditionally always been in our food, but never to

this degree.