Nitrites - good or bad?

Food Additives are chemicals or materials that manufacturers and producers add to foods and drinks to improve at least one characteristic of those foods and drinks. The only additives permitted to be added to foods and drinks in Australia are shown in Chapter One of the Food Standards Code.

There are different types of additives, and one of these is the group of chemicals containing Nitrates and Nitrites. These are generally added for their preservative capability and also retard rancidity, stabilise flavour, and also produce the distinct pink colour of cured meat.

There are specific quantities permitted to be added to fermented meat products, and this must not exceed the levels shown in Chapter Two of the Code. These levels are based on recommendations from the World Health Organisation (WHO), as it is believed that large consumption of these chemicals over the long term may be linked to the development of some cancers.

Short term effects in some people may include; asthma attacks, headaches, dizziness and breathing difficulties. Therefore, the WHO recommends moderate consumption of products containing nitrites and nitrates.

About 80 per cent of nitrates in the diet occur naturally in vegetables, while nitrites sources include vegetables, fruit, and processed meats. Recent research has found that fruit and vegetables that are high in nitrates may also protect against gastric ulcers as they break down into nitric acid and therefore assist the stomach.

A study, published recently, and funded by the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station, Michigan State University, and the American Heart Association has found that consumption of nitrates and nitrites may also have significant beneficial effects on cardiovascular health and blood pressure.

“These data call into question the rationale for recommendations to limit nitrate and nitrite consumption from plant foods; a comprehensive re-evaluation of the health effects of food sources of nitrates and nitrites is appropriate,” wrote the authors of this study, led by Norman Hord from Michigan State University.

For more information about nitrites and nitrates refer to www.foodstandards.gov.au