About Nitrites

Most nitrite used in curing meat disappears from the product after it has accomplished its curing affects.  Within two weeks after curing, the amount of nitrite remaining in a product may be as little as one-fourth the amount initially added to it.  Cured meat products typically contain 10-40 parts per million (PPM) at the time of purchase.

  Your mouth and intestines’ manufacture nitrite and there is some evidence that our intestines’ nitrite prevents us from poisoning ourselves with the very food we eat every day, since there is moisture in the stomach, lack of oxygen and correct temperatures for food poisoning.

  Furthermore, there has been some evidence of crib deaths when the infant was not able to manufacture enough nitrite in its system and, consequently, died of food poisoning.

  Even more interesting,  just to name a few nitrite-containing vegetables, plain old ordinary beets have been found to contain 2,760 PPM of nitrite;  celery, 1,600 to 2,600 PPM;  lettuce, 100 to 1,400 PPM;  radishes, 2,400 to 3,000 PPM; potatoes, 120 PPM;  and zucchini squash 600 PPM.  The source for these nitrites in the vegetables comes from nitrogen fertilizers.  It is nitrogen that helps to produce the green color in vegetables and to make them grow faster.

  It makes little difference whether you fertilize your vegetable garden out of a bag of chemicals or cow manure.  The chemical end result will be the same: nitrogen equals nitrite.

  This is from a book called The Bible of Sausage Making 4th edition.  Writen by Rytek Kutas.

  Something to think about when you are thinking of buying those high priced, all natural sausages with an all natural cure.  Most will use dried cerlory for the nitrite which is the same as just putting nitrite in the sausage.