Everyone has heard of nitrite, and generally knows that nitrite causes cancer, so why do we need to add it? How much is safe to add? Wouldn't it be okay to replace it with something else that doesn't cause cancer? Today Dr. No Medicine and No Medicine will learn about nitrite with everyone.
If you look at the ingredient list of ham sausage, you will find that sodium nitrite is basically added. Why do we have to add nitrite?
The addition of sodium nitrite to rouge meat has two functions:
The main function is to be used as a preservative. During the storage process, meat is easily contaminated by bacteria, especially Clostridium botulinum, and nitrite has a unique and strong effect on Clostridium botulinum. Therefore, nitrite is more suitable for meat preservation.
In order to inhibit possible spoilage, producers usually add nitrite to processed meat products.
The second function is that nitrite can be used as a color-protecting agent for meat products. Meat treated with nitrite has a bright color and is more attractive. Because nitrite can react with myoglobin in meat to form rose-colored nitrosomyoglobin, which enhances the color of meat.
These two functions are enough for nitrite to gain a foothold in preservative products. Regarding carcinogenesis and toxicity
Everyone is very strange. Even children know that nitrite causes cancer. Why does the country still allow its addition in recipes?
In fact, it is not nitrite that causes cancer, but nitrosamines produced by metabolism in the body. Nitrosamines are strong carcinogens.
For nitrite, excessive intake is also toxic. A one-time intake of 300 milligrams may cause poisoning, and more than 3 grams can be fatal. Because after nitrite enters the human body, it will oxidize ferrous hemoglobin in the blood into methemoglobin, causing it to lose its ability to transport oxygen, causing tissue hypoxia and poisoning. The added amount is within the normal intake range and will not cause carcinogenesis
Under normal circumstances, nitrates and nitrites naturally exist in our diet, especially green leafy vegetables that have been left for a long time. Therefore, as a food additive, as long as it is used within the scope prescribed by the state, it will not cause obvious harm to the body. Therefore, the added amount must be controlled
According to the national standard "National Food Safety Standards for the Use of Food Additives", this standard is mandatory. Only trace amounts of nitrite residues are allowed in cured bacon and other products, and the limit is is 30 mg/kg, and the maximum residue level in smoked ham shall not exceed 70 mg/kg.
So, the nitrite in the pickles we usually eat is not artificially added, but may be naturally occurring. How is this amount required?
According to the "National Standard for Limits of Contaminants in Food", the limit for pickled vegetables is 20 mg/kg. Under other circumstances, it cannot exceed 3-5 mg/kg. How to reduce the damage of nitrite?
Nothing else, just eat less or not eat at all. When it comes to ham sausage, there are uniform additive dosages that can be checked, but for pickled foods, especially pickles, etc., there is no way to give you a clear data, because the residual amounts are different in each store, especially in some small workshops. Yes, it may be over the standard, and neither the seller nor the buyer knows it.
Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, and try not to eat foods that have been pickled within 24 hours. Expand your knowledge:
Clostridium botulinum and its spores are very tenacious compared to other contaminated fungi, especially its spores. Boiling in boiling water at 100°C for 1 hour may not completely kill them. What is even more frightening is that the botulinum toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum is highly toxic and has a high mortality rate in humans, so sufficient attention should be paid to it.
Introduction to Dr. Bu Yao
Ph.D. in life sciences, licensed pharmacist, senior nutritionist, protects life and health, rejects fake health regimen, and takes care of you to maintain a healthy you!