Sodium nitrite, often used as a meat food additive, but it also has a identity, is a highly toxic strong oxidant, people mistakenly eat 3 grams will lead to death. At the same time, sodium nitrite will produce a strong carcinogen nitrosamine under certain conditions, so it also has a high carcinogenic risk.
Since sodium nitrite is toxic and indirectly carcinogenic, why should it be added to meat foods such as sausage ham and bacon?
1. Preservative: Meat food in the storage process will produce a highly toxic botulinum toxin, 0.1 microgram can kill people, and sodium nitrite can just inhibit its growth, to avoid food contamination.
2. Maintain freshness and nutrition: Sodium nitrite reflects with myoglobin and hemoglobin in meat, and the resulting substances can make meat products bright and bright, achieve the role of color protection, and secondly, it can also increase the flavor of meat and maintain the nutritional value of meat. There is currently no food additive that can replace sodium nitrite.
As for the toxicity and carcinogenic risk that everyone is most worried about, first of all, the content of sodium nitrite will not be poisoned if it does not exceed the standard, so when buying meat products, you must choose a regular manufacturer. Secondly, many manufacturers will also add "D-isocorbic acid sodium" to inhibit the conversion of sodium nitrite into nitrosamines and reduce the risk of carcinogenesis.
But it is still necessary to remind everyone that in fact, meat processed products themselves are very unhealthy, as early as 2015 has been clearly classified as a first-class carcinogen. So it is recommended that you try to choose fresh food!