Nitrite

In some countries,{{which?|date=November 2025}} cured-meat products are manufactured without [[nitrate]] or nitrite, and without nitrite from vegetable sources. [[Parma ham]], produced without nitrite since 1993, was reported in 2018 to have caused no cases of botulism. This is because the muscle's interior is sterile, while its surface is exposed to oxygen. Other manufacturing processes do not assure these conditions, and reduction of nitrite results in toxin production.{{cite journal |last1=Lebrun |first1=S. |last2=Van Nieuwenhuysen |first2=T. |last3=Crèvecoeur |first3=S. |last4=Vanleyssem |first4=R. |last5=Thimister |first5=J. |last6=Denayer |first6=S. |last7=Jeuge |first7=S. |last8=Daube |first8=G. |last9=Clinquart |first9=A. |last10=Fremaux |first10=B. |title=Influence of reduced levels or suppression of sodium nitrite on the outgrowth and toxinogenesis of psychrotrophic Clostridium botulinum Group II type B in cooked ham |journal=International Journal of Food Microbiology |date=December 2020 |volume=334 |article-number=108853 |doi=10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2020.108853 |pmid=32932195 }}

In some countries,{{which?|date=November 2025}} cured-meat products are manufactured without [[nitrate]] or nitrite, and without nitrite from vegetable sources. [[Parma ham]], produced without nitrite since 1993, was reported in 2018 to have caused no cases of botulism. This is because the muscle's interior is sterile, while its surface is exposed to oxygen. Other manufacturing processes do not assure these conditions, and reduction of nitrite results in toxin production.{{cite journal |last1=Lebrun |first1=S. |last2=Van Nieuwenhuysen |first2=T. |last3=Crèvecoeur |first3=S. |last4=Vanleyssem |first4=R. |last5=Thimister |first5=J. |last6=Denayer |first6=S. |last7=Jeuge |first7=S. |last8=Daube |first8=G. |last9=Clinquart |first9=A. |last10=Fremaux |first10=B. |title=Influence of reduced levels or suppression of sodium nitrite on the outgrowth and toxinogenesis of psychrotrophic Clostridium botulinum Group II type B in cooked ham |journal=International Journal of Food Microbiology |date=December 2020 |volume=334 |article-number=108853 |doi=10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2020.108853 |pmid=32932195 }}

Historians and [[epidemiology|epidemiologist]]s argue{{weasel inline|date=November 2025}} that the widespread use of nitrite in meat-curing is closely linked to the development of industrial meat-processing.{{cite book |last=Coudray |first=Guillaume |year=2017 |title=Cochonneries: Comment la charcuterie est devenue un poison |language=fr |location=Paris |publisher=La Découverte |pages=40–70 |isbn=978-2-7071-9358-2}}{{Cite journal|last=Lauer|first=Klaus|date=1991-01-01|title=The history of nitrite in human nutrition: A contribution from German cookery books|url=https://www.jclinepi.com/article/0895-4356(91)90037-A/abstract|journal=Journal of Clinical Epidemiology|language=en|volume=44|issue=3|pages=261–264|doi=10.1016/0895-4356(91)90037-A|issn=0895-4356|pmid=1999685|url-access=subscription}} French investigative journalist Guillaume Coudray asserts that the meat industry chooses to cure its meats with nitrite even though it is established that this chemical gives rise to cancer-causing [[nitroso]]-compounds.{{citation needed|reason="Corporate crime reporter dot com" isn't going to be unbiased about literally any issue on the planet|date=November 2025}} Some traditional and artisanal producers avoid nitrites. As many researchers{{who?|date=November 2025}} nowadays{{when?|date=November 2025}} try to point out the hazardous generation of nitrosamines as nitrites bound to free [[peptide]]s in the gastrointestinal system, the EU published a regulation that requires lowering nitrite levels in meat curing from {{val|150|to|80|u=ppm}}.{{Cite news |title=Commission Decision (EU) 2024/1225 of 30 April 2024 concerning national provisions notified by Denmark on the addition of nitrite to certain meat products |url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=OJ:L_202401225}}

Historians and [[epidemiology|epidemiologist]]s argue{{weasel inline|date=November 2025}} that the widespread use of nitrite in meat-curing is closely linked to the development of industrial meat-processing.{{cite book |last=Coudray |first=Guillaume |year=2017 |title=Cochonneries: Comment la charcuterie est devenue un poison |language=fr |location=Paris |publisher=La Découverte |pages=40–70 |isbn=978-2-7071-9358-2}}{{Cite journal|last=Lauer|first=Klaus|date=1991-01-01|title=The history of nitrite in human nutrition: A contribution from German cookery books|url=https://www.jclinepi.com/article/0895-4356(91)90037-A/abstract|journal=Journal of Clinical Epidemiology|language=en|volume=44|issue=3|pages=261–264|doi=10.1016/0895-4356(91)90037-A|issn=0895-4356|pmid=1999685|url-access=subscription}} French investigative journalist Guillaume Coudray asserts that the meat industry chooses to cure its meats with nitrite even though it is established that this chemical gives rise to cancer-causing [[nitroso]]-compounds.{{citation needed|reason="Corporate crime reporter dot com" isn't going to be unbiased about literally any issue on the planet|date=November 2025}} Some traditional and artisanal producers avoid nitrites. As many researchers{{who?|date=November 2025}} nowadays{{when?|date=November 2025}} try to point out the hazardous generation of nitrosamines as nitrites bind to free [[peptide]]s in the gastrointestinal system, the EU published a regulation that requires lowering nitrite levels in meat curing from {{val|150|to|80|u=ppm}}.{{Cite news |title=Commission Decision (EU) 2024/1225 of 30 April 2024 concerning national provisions notified by Denmark on the addition of nitrite to certain meat products |url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=OJ:L_202401225}}

In mice, food rich in nitrites together with unsaturated fats can prevent [[hypertension]] by forming nitro fatty acids that inhibit soluble [[epoxide hydrolase]], which is one explanation for the apparent health effect of the [[Mediterranean diet]].{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1073/pnas.1402965111| title = Protection from hypertension in mice by the Mediterranean diet is mediated by nitro fatty acid inhibition of soluble epoxide hydrolase| journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences| volume = 111| issue = 22| pages = 8167–8172| year = 2014| last1 = Charles | first1 = R. L.| last2 = Rudyk | first2 = O.| last3 = Prysyazhna | first3 = O.| last4 = Kamynina | first4 = A.| last5 = Yang | first5 = J.| last6 = Morisseau | first6 = C.| last7 = Hammock | first7 = B. D.| last8 = Freeman | first8 = B. A.| last9 = Eaton | first9 = P. | pmid=24843165 | pmc=4050620 | bibcode = 2014PNAS..111.8167C| doi-access = free}} Adding nitrites to meat has been shown to generate known [[carcinogen]]s; the [[World Health Organization]] (WHO) advises that eating {{convert|50|g|abbr=on}} of nitrite processed meat a day would raise the risk of getting [[bowel cancer]] by 18% over a lifetime.

In mice, food rich in nitrites together with unsaturated fats can prevent [[hypertension]] by forming nitro fatty acids that inhibit soluble [[epoxide hydrolase]], which is one explanation for the apparent health effect of the [[Mediterranean diet]].{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1073/pnas.1402965111| title = Protection from hypertension in mice by the Mediterranean diet is mediated by nitro fatty acid inhibition of soluble epoxide hydrolase| journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences| volume = 111| issue = 22| pages = 8167–8172| year = 2014| last1 = Charles | first1 = R. L.| last2 = Rudyk | first2 = O.| last3 = Prysyazhna | first3 = O.| last4 = Kamynina | first4 = A.| last5 = Yang | first5 = J.| last6 = Morisseau | first6 = C.| last7 = Hammock | first7 = B. D.| last8 = Freeman | first8 = B. A.| last9 = Eaton | first9 = P. | pmid=24843165 | pmc=4050620 | bibcode = 2014PNAS..111.8167C| doi-access = free}} Adding nitrites to meat has been shown to generate known [[carcinogen]]s; the [[World Health Organization]] (WHO) advises that eating {{convert|50|g|abbr=on}} of nitrite processed meat a day would raise the risk of getting [[bowel cancer]] by 18% over a lifetime.