Page 40 - FoodFocusThailand No.180 March 2021

SMART PRODUCTI
SMART PRODUCTIONON

Safe Use of Nitrite

in Processed Meat Products

Nitrite has the chemical formula NO which is widely used as food additive in processed meat products. Nitrite
2
is commonly used in the forms of sodium nitrite or potassium nitrite due to its ability to dissolve in water. The
use of salt and nitrite along with several other ingredients is known as “curing” to obtain cured meat product
e.g. sausage, ham, bacon.

Some certain meat products that require long curing/ripening e.g. color of nitrosyl hemochrome pigment which is the unique color in
fermented sausage, salami, pepperoni, dry cured ham (Parma ham, ready-to-eat products e.g. sausage, ham, bacon.
Prosciutto), nitrate may use alone or together with nitrite. During long 3. Acting as Antioxidant Nitrite added in meat products acts as
curing/ripening, the nitrate-reducing bacteria produce nitrate reductase antioxidant through its scavenging capacity. Nitrite thus be able to
enzyme to change nitrate to nitrite in order to obtain better characteristics inhibit the oxidation of lipid and protein and further provide the desirable
than the use of nitrite alone. color, flavor and texture of cured meat product throughout the storage.

Why Nitrite is Added in Processed Meat Products? Toxicity of Nitrite
Technological roles of nitrite in processed meat products are as follows; The primary adverse health effect associated with the exposure of
1. Microbial Inhibition Nitrite can inhibit the growth of foodborne nitrite is methemoglobinemia. Nitrite would interrupt the distribution
pathogens and food spoilage bacteria in meat products through various of oxygen through the human body caused the bluish skin and
mechanisms, including interruption of oxygen uptake and critical enzymes vasodilator effects. Moreover, residual nitrite in product could undergo
in bacterial metabolism, formation of nitrous acid and nitric oxide. reacted with amines existed in meat and formed carcinogenic
It is well known that nitrite is specifically control spore germination nitrosamines.
of Clostridium botulinum and the growth of various foodborne pathogens This is why the International Agency for Research on Cancer
such as Listeria monocytogenes, Clostridium perfringens, Achromobacter, (IARC) classified processed meat as Group 1 since 2015 due to there
Aerobacter, Flavobacterium, and Micrococcus spp. Therefore, nitrite is is sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in human and this carcinogenic
very important to produce the safety and extend shelf-life of meat potential is in the same group with smoking. European Food Safety
products. Authority (EFSA) defined the safety value or Acceptable Daily Intake
2. Produce Stable Cured Meat Color Nitrite added in meat products (ADI) for nitrite at 0.07 mg/kg bw/day. The exposure of nitrite is varied
could undergo change to nitric oxide (NO) and tightly bound with by the body weight. To meet the safe dose of nitrite exposure, the
myoglobin which is the natural pigment in meat muscle and forms highly person whose weight is 60 kg, they are allowed to take nitrite through
stable red pigment of NO-myoglobin (or nitrosylmyoglobin). During their diets not over than 4.2 mg/day. Meanwhile, children whose weight
heating, NO-myoglobin in cured meat would change to a stable pink is 15 kg, they are allowed to take nitrite only 1.05 mg/day.

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