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Sodium nitrite is a carcinogen, and the carcinogenic level is very high, if you often eat foods containing sodium nitrite, it will increase the risk of cancer in the body, but when we eat ham, sausages and other foods, we will see the ingredient list of the outer packaging: will indicate that this food contains sodium nitrite, at this time, there are people full of questions: sodium nitrite carcinogenic level is very high, why in these foods, but to add sodium nitrite? Can't it be replaced by something else? Next, let's talk to you, why do you have to add sodium nitrite to the ham sausage? To understand this problem, first of all, let's understand the characteristics of sodium nitrite and the reasons why excessive consumption of this substance can cause body poisoning.
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First, what exactly is sodium nitrite?
Sodium nitrite is an inorganic salt formed by the combination of nitrite ions and sodium ions. Sodium nitrite is easily deliquescible, easily soluble in water and liquid ammonia, its aqueous solution is alkaline, its pH is about 9, slightly soluble in ethanol, methanol, ether and other organic solvents. Sodium nitrite has a salty taste and is used to make fake table salt. Sodium nitrite exposure to air reacts with oxygen to form sodium nitrate. If heated to more than 320 ° C, it decomposes to produce oxygen, nitrogen oxide and sodium oxide. Flammable and explosive in contact with organic matter.
The reason why accidental consumption of sodium nitrite will be poisoned is that the iron contained in hemoglobin in the human body is ferrous, which can combine with oxygen and circulate with the blood to transport oxygen to all parts of the body. When sodium nitrite is mistakenly ingested, a chemical reaction occurs in the blood, causing hemoglobin to be converted into hemoglobin of trivalent iron. Trivalent iron hemoglobin cannot carry oxygen, thus causing hypoxia poisoning in the human body. Therefore, the accidental consumption of sodium nitrite is very harmful to health.
Second, why should sodium nitrite be added to ham sausage?
This is mainly because processed meat products produce a substance called "botulinum toxin" during storage.
Botulinum toxin
Botulinum toxin is a bacterium that grows in an oxygen-deficient environment, has a strong viability in canned food and sealed pickled food, and is one of the most toxic bacteria. Botulinum toxin is a deadly bacterium that secretes botulinum toxin during reproduction, which is the most highly toxic known today and inhibits the release of acetylcholine from cholinergic nerve endings, leading to muscle relaxation paralysis. When people eat and absorb this toxin, the nervous system is destroyed, and symptoms such as droopy eyelids, diplopia, strabismus, dysphagia, dizziness, dyspnea, and muscle weakness occur, and in severe cases, they can die due to respiratory paralysis.
The results of the study showed that if a person accidentally ingested 0.1 microgram of Botox, it can cause death.
Sodium nitrite can just inhibit the growth and reproduction of botulinum toxin, which can greatly avoid the production of botulinum toxin in food, which also greatly avoids the situation that people are poisoned due to the intake of botulinum toxin when eating meat processed foods. Therefore, sodium nitrite is widely used in processed meat products.
Third, can you replace sodium nitrite with something else?
No
Relevant experts said: At present, it has not been found that a substance can replace sodium nitrite, although sodium nitrite has a certain toxicity, but because sodium nitrite can inhibit the production of botulinum toxin in processed meat food, human beings are still inseparable from it, in meat products, it is the least bad additive.
Safe range for consumption of nitrite
The standard for the safe intake of sodium nitrite issued by the World Food Sanitation Scientific Committee in 1992 is 0~0.1mg/kg body weight; if converted into nitrite, its standard is 0~4.2mg/60 kg body weight, and it will not cause harm to the human body when used and consumed according to this standard.
Sodium nitrite is toxic, and the toxic side effect of excessive ingestion is to paralyze the vascular motor center, respiratory center and peripheral blood vessels, forming methemoglobin. Acute intoxication presents with general weakness, headache, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, chest urgency, and dyspnea; cyanosis of the mucous membranes is revealed on examination. In severe cases, blood pressure drops, coma, and death.
In addition, sodium nitrite also produces carcinogens in the human body. The newly pickled kimchi also contains sodium nitrite, and it is necessary to remind everyone that kimchi is best eaten after 15 days after pickling, and its nitrite content will gradually decrease.