Meat: Reduction of Nitrate and Nitrite Salts in Meat Products – What Are the Consequences and Possible Solutions?

Abstract

The use of nitrite and nitrate salts as additives in the manufacture of cured meat products is regulated by European directives. The nitrite ion can be toxic, and nitrate becomes so upon reduction to nitrite. Sodium and potassium salts of nitrates and nitrites are commonly used as additives in the manufacture of meat products, such as salt-cured meats. Given the potential risk associated with nitrites, the European Commission is considering reducing levels of nitrites or nitrates or both in some foodstuffs, including meat products. Colour is formed through the reduction of nitrates to nitrites via the nitrate reductase activity of the two staphylococci used as starters, and also by numerous chemical reactions of nitrites with meat pigments. Nitrates serve as a reservoir of nitrites, which are the active molecules involved in inhibition of various bacterial populations. The chapter reviews the effects of nitrate/nitrite on different bacterial populations, i.e., starters, spoilage bacteria and pathogenic bacteria.