Science > Diet and Health
Defining “Natural Bacon” Labels
LQB:
Here is an interesting Letter in the latest issue of the Weston Price Journal (WAPF staff included no response):
--- Quote ---BACON BITS
Beverly Rubik’s article entitled “How does Pork Prepared in Various Ways Affect the Blood?” (Fall, 2011) is an excellent piece of research on the proper preparation of pork. I would however like to clarify some information on cured pork especially for those bacon lovers that have been purchasing uncured bacon with no added nitrates or nitrites.
Nitrates are used in the meat processing industry to preserve the meat and ensure consumers do not get an unhealthy dose of botulism with their bacon. The most recent concern over nitrates is the production of nitrosamines (a carcinogen) in the digestive tract. While the research on nitrates causing cancer is still sketchy, anyone who is health-conscious should avoid them if possible. Uncured bacon, which plainly advertises that there are no added nitrates or nitrites, has become a very popular choice among those who enjoy bacon and yet are concerned about nitrates. As Beverly points out in her article, the uncured bacon contains celery juice powder which is high in natural nitrates and other nutrients that may counteract the carcinogenicity of the nitrates. While it seems a safer alternative, nothing could be further from the truth.
As far as your body’s chemistry is concerned and for the curing process, a nitrate is a nitrate is a nitrate. It doesn’t matter if it is a chemically produced nitrate or nitrate from celery juice powder. So the notion that uncured bacon has no added nitrates or nitrites is completely false advertising; on the contrary, they are loaded with nitrates.
Now here’s where it starts to get a little crazy. There is no way to gauge how much nitrate is in celery juice powder. Conventional bacon production uses chemical nitrate so they know exactly how much is added to the pork for curing, based on parts per million. In fact when chemical nitrates are utilized the FDA and USDA mandate how much the processor can put into the bacon, how little they can put in and how much is left over. However because celery juice powder is considered a natural additive, there are no restrictions or mandates to follow. It’s as though the nitrates were never added. When it comes to how much nitrate is being added to uncured bacon with celery juice it’s a complete crapshoot. It’s a loophole that gives the meat producers one less inspector looking over their shoulder but leaves the door wide open for possible health issues.
In 2010, Cook’s Illustrated tested different types of bacon and found that two brands of "nitrate-free" bacon had significantly more nitrates than their conventional counterparts. The residual levels in the "uncured" bacons tested were all above the allowed levels in the conventional way of processing. So the very same nitrate level that everyone is trying to avoid by purchasing the uncured bacon is above, sometimes well above, that contained in the conventional brands.
In her article Beverly alluded to the fact that some people report adverse reactions to meat cured with celery juice. I happen to be one of those people. Sodium nitrite in its pure form is dangerous since it is an anti-oxidant. It would happen something like this. You eat a couple teaspoons of the stuff, and within a short while, your cells asphyxiate because your body can no longer carry oxygen. This is known as blue baby syndrome or cyanosis.
During the curing process sodium nitrate (NO3) is reduced or changed into sodium nitrite (NO2). The nitrate-tonitrite process happens in a relatively short period of time and it is the sodium nitrite that does all of the work ensuring the meat is preserved and the consumer does not get botulism. If the meat is allowed to continue curing, as with salami and other cured meat products that hang from one month to one year, the sodium nitrites eventually convert to harmless nitric oxide (NO) with only residual amounts of nitrites left in the meat. In uncured meats there is no extended curing process. The bacon goes from the processing facility to the grocer’s shelf to your table. The consumer ends up getting a full dose of sodium nitrite. And since there are more nitrates in the uncured bacon by way of celery juice powder you end up ingesting dangerous amounts of sodium nitrites.
The adverse reaction I was suffering from was cyanosis. I couldn’t catch my breath and I felt like I was dying. I was all right if I wasn’t exerting myself but if I tried to do anything that involved moving or lifting I had very little oxygen getting into my system. Not sure if it was instinctive or if the effects were more severe after breakfast but I had a notion that the uncured bacon had something to do with the reaction. I eliminated bacon from my diet and within a few days the symptoms completely subsided and I’ve had no further health issues.
In my opinion uncured bacon with celery juice powder is a loaded gun. If nitrates are indeed a cause of cancer then people are getting it in large doses with the uncured bacon. And since there is no way to gauge how much nitrate is in celery juice powder, the odds of getting dangerous amounts of nitrites (causing a cyanosis type reaction) is fairly high. With an unknown quantity such as celery juice I’m sure the bacon processors feel it is better to weigh in on the side of too much than not enough since preventing botulism is their first priority. Unfortunately the “too much” has a whole other set of health issues.
With regard to nitrate and nitrite levels, conventional bacon is hands down the better choice. To avoid the nitrate-nitrite issue altogether I’d recommend purchasing bacon cured in salt. While sea salt has trace amounts of sodium nitrate, it would not be enough to cause health issues. Your best bet is to contact a local farmer with free range pigs, have the bacon portion of the pig cured the old traditional method in salt, maple syrup, a few spices and smoked to your liking.
Archie Welch
Clarkston, Michigan
--- End quote ---
voyageur:
--- Quote from: LQB on April 14, 2012, 11:36:14 PM ---Here is an interesting Letter in the latest issue of the Weston Price Journal (WAPF staff included no response):
--- End quote ---
--- Quote ---BACON BITS
...If the meat is allowed to continue curing, as with salami and other cured meat products that hang from one month to one year, the sodium nitrites eventually convert to harmless nitric oxide (NO) with only residual amounts of nitrites left in the meat.
...
I’d recommend purchasing bacon cured in salt. While sea salt has trace amounts of sodium nitrate, it would not be enough to cause health issues. Your best bet is to contact a local farmer with free range pigs, have the bacon portion of the pig cured the old traditional method in salt, maple syrup, a few spices and smoked to your liking.
Archie Welch
Clarkston, Michigan
--- End quote ---
Thanks for the above article.
We were getting our bacon from a shop brought in cured in the above way, yet the bacon source closed their doors when a new lease came around and just got out of the business. :( Now new bacon has come in to the shop from a different source, but don't know about it - have asked questions of the source, with no definitive reply. In the mean time, have purchased a half pork from the local Hutterites, but even this could be sketchy, although it was sent out to a known butcher for curing under the understanding that it was cured as above.
Another 'Bacon Guy' discusses curing and nitrites here: Episode 37 – Bacon
_http://www.kevinkossowan.com/?s=bacon&x=0&y=0 with an explanation for curing with nitrites in terms of the end amounts being less then other things, yet as said, "nitrites are nitrites".
A good thing with abandoning the large grocers and supporting the small shops is that they, if enough people get behind them, look for the best products and try hard to bring them in, although it costs.
LQB:
--- Quote from: voyageur on April 15, 2012, 07:43:17 AM ---
A good thing with abandoning the large grocers and supporting the small shops is that they, if enough people get behind them, look for the best products and try hard to bring them in, although it costs.
--- End quote ---
Yes, I talked with the Caw caw Creek folks in SC about their cured pork products: (_http://cawcawcreek.com/order-online.html)
--- Quote ---Artisan Charcuterie
Bacon
Not lean or skinny like grocery store stuff! And that means its delicious. Like all of our meat and animals, our bacon is free from all industrial perversions - salt, sugar, and smoke are the only ingredients. (1 lb.)
$7.95
Country Prosciutto
Masterpieces of time and taste. Takes the pig about a year to grow, then we cure it for about another and offer it to you whole, foot-on, bone-in. Blending the techniques of country ham and prosciutto, we invite you to amaze your guests with this gorgeous and delicious delicacy. (whole, 12 - 22 lbs. each)
$199.95
Fatback
cured and sliced (cured and sliced, 1lb.)
Fresh Jowls
For house-made Guanciale - like a bacon with more 'notes,' perfect for Italian food and sauces! (5 - 10 lbs.)
--- End quote ---
They make the least profit on the cured meats since it costs so much to send the meat out for curing. In fact this is the last year that they will offer the Country Prosciutto (above). Apparently this is the better part of a quarter hog, and loses much of its weight after a year of curing. Their pigs are pastured but supplemented with a soy mix :(. [The Jowl bacon we tried from Ted Slanker is excellent]
Jason (ocean59):
Thanks so much for this information about celery powder and nitrates.
Just 3 weeks ago I went to a big box grocer one town farther away than normal. While browsing their meat department, I noticed an unusually large selection of what I thought to be nitrite/nitrate free sausages and other meats...and the prices were amazingly cheap! I saw the celery ingredient - and thought nothing of it. Though by now I guess I should know better than to trust ANY additive without first researching.
My freezer is full of this stuff now, and it's quite likely WORSE than the conventional versions??
Sigh...I guess it is time to save up, order, and purchase a hog portion directly from the farm and send to the butcher myself...it seems to be the only reliable and economical solution remaining! Other than raising one myself of course, which I'm still seriously considering doing this year.
3D Student:
I remember Laura saying that you can get some of the nitrates out by parboiling the bacon first. I would think that goes for the celery juice as well.
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