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Nitrate(E251 E252)

Level 5 — High concernIn Winter's Dictionary

Nitrate is a preservative — Color fixative in cured meats

Also: Potassium Nitrate, Sodium Nitrate, Saltpeter, Chile Saltpeter

What it does

Color fixative in cured meats

Where you'll see it

cured meats, country hams, sausages, vegetables (spinach, beets, radishes, celery, lettuce naturally high), water supplies with nitrate runoff

What the research says

Combines with natural stomach saliva and food substances (secondary amines) to create nitrosamines, powerful cancer-causing additives. Nitrosamines found in foods treated with nitrates. Single doses of 0.1 microgram per gram body weight induced liver cancer in mice. Caused pancreatic cancer in hamsters similar to human pancreatic cancer. Vegetables high in nitrates due to nitrate fertilizers.

Regulatory status

  • US FDA: ASP
  • EU: approved
  • Notes: Manufacturers voluntarily removed nitrates from many products; still used in long curing processes like country hams

Sources

  • A Consumer's Dictionary of Food Additives (Winter): Both nitrates combine with natural stomach saliva and food substances (secondary amines) to create nitrosamines, powerful cancer-causing additives