Sodium nitrite

[Guest guest]

I checked out those food-related cartoons and the first one I read

showed a connection between processed meat ( " Hickary Farms " sausage)

and pancreatic cancer. So I read on and discovered that sodium nitrite

seems to be the big demon of processed meats.

Here's my problem: I *just* made a large-ish purchase of pork from a

local producer based on my (good) opinion of a pork roast I had

purchased at a local co-op. My bulk purchase included bacon and

sausage links. While merrily storing away this bounty in our freezer,

I discovered that the sausage links contain sodium nitrite, as does

the bacon (plus phosphate and sodium erythorbate).

So now I have 7-12 lbs of food tainted with sodium nitrite (I don't

know if the ground sausage I bought contains it or not), and three

small children whom I try very hard not to expose to unhealthy foods.

However, we aren't in a position to easily absorb the kind of

financial hit it would be if I just threw this food away.

What would be the best thing to do with this meat? I'm guessing I've

eaten plenty of sodium nitrite in my life before I knew enough to

avoid it (and most additives). However, I have done a very good job of

preventing my family eating it (so far). We recently lost a family

member to pancreatic cancer, and my determination to feed my family

the healthiest way possible is more strong than ever.

Your thoughts?

Peace,

Genie

TIA,

Genie