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Jeff Serena
 
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Default smoked sausage without sodium nitrite

I've been thinking about making my own smoked sausage at home, and for
Christmas my wife kindly gave me a copy of Ruhlman and Polcyn's
Charcuterie. In it they describe the necessity of using sodium nitrite
in hot-smoked sausages as an agent to prevent the growth of the
bacteria responsible for botulism (they also note that it's useful in
color preservation and possibly even as a flavor enhancer). There's
something here I don't understand, however, and I hope someone can
explain it to me.

According to the authors and various sources I found on the Internet,
the bacteria, spores of which are fairly common in the environment, can
thrive at temperatures between about 40F and 120F (various sources give
slightly different ranges), with optimal temperature about 90F. The
bacteria can survive at somewhat higher and lower temperatures, but do
not produce the toxin responsible for botulism at those more extreme
temperatures. The bacteria in optimal conditions are reported to
require about eight hours to begin producing their potentially deadly
toxins.

Ruhlman and Polcyn recommend keeping the ingredients for sausage-making
as cool as possible (at or below 40F preferably) before mixing and
stuffing--partly for safe handling but mostly for the best results in
grinding, and they further recommend a temperature of 180F for their
various hot-smoking recipes. I'll happily follow both instructions. I
would expect to refrigerate some of the smoked sausage for eating
within a day or two, and I would freeze the rest for eating later, and
I have a good freezer in the basement that I run at modestly subzero
temperatures. So here's the question: Why do I need to add sodium
nitrite? I understand that the internal temperature of the sausage will
pass through the range in which the bacteria thrives at the beginning
of the smoking process and again when cooling in the refrigerator or
freezer, but the temperature transitions in total will certainly be
less than eight hours.

I'm not, by the way, terribly worried either about adding sodium
nitrite to sausage or about botulism--but I am curious about this.

Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide.

Best regards,

Jeff

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Reg
 
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Default smoked sausage without sodium nitrite

Jeff Serena wrote:

> Ruhlman and Polcyn recommend keeping the ingredients for sausage-making
> as cool as possible (at or below 40F preferably) before mixing and
> stuffing--partly for safe handling but mostly for the best results in
> grinding, and they further recommend a temperature of 180F for their
> various hot-smoking recipes. I'll happily follow both instructions. I
> would expect to refrigerate some of the smoked sausage for eating
> within a day or two, and I would freeze the rest for eating later, and
> I have a good freezer in the basement that I run at modestly subzero
> temperatures. So here's the question: Why do I need to add sodium
> nitrite? I understand that the internal temperature of the sausage will
> pass through the range in which the bacteria thrives at the beginning
> of the smoking process and again when cooling in the refrigerator or
> freezer, but the temperature transitions in total will certainly be
> less than eight hours.


Cook as you suggest at at least 180 F to about 155 F internal.
Don't "bloom" the sausage at room temp after cooking as is often recommended.
Don't do this with anything thicker than 2 inch sausages, ie hog casings.

If you go by the above guidelines you'll be in the danger zone
for no more than 3-4 hours and you won't really need nitrites. You
can use salt only, it's a question of how much. I would suggest
at least 2% by weight.

--
Reg email: RegForte (at) (that free MS email service) (dot) com

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Sheldon
 
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Default smoked sausage without sodium nitrite


Jeff Serena wrote:
> I've been thinking about making my own smoked sausage at home, and for
> Christmas my wife kindly gave me a copy of Ruhlman and Polcyn's
> Charcuterie. In it they describe the necessity of using sodium nitrite
> in hot-smoked sausages as an agent to prevent the growth of the
> bacteria responsible for botulism (they also note that it's useful in
> color preservation and possibly even as a flavor enhancer). There's
> something here I don't understand, however, and I hope someone can
> explain it to me.
>
> According to the authors and various sources I found on the Internet,
> the bacteria, spores of which are fairly common in the environment, can
> thrive at temperatures between about 40F and 120F (various sources give
> slightly different ranges), with optimal temperature about 90F. The
> bacteria can survive at somewhat higher and lower temperatures, but do
> not produce the toxin responsible for botulism at those more extreme
> temperatures. The bacteria in optimal conditions are reported to
> require about eight hours to begin producing their potentially deadly
> toxins.
>
> Ruhlman and Polcyn recommend keeping the ingredients for sausage-making
> as cool as possible (at or below 40F preferably) before mixing and
> stuffing--partly for safe handling but mostly for the best results in
> grinding, and they further recommend a temperature of 180F for their
> various hot-smoking recipes. I'll happily follow both instructions. I
> would expect to refrigerate some of the smoked sausage for eating
> within a day or two, and I would freeze the rest for eating later, and
> I have a good freezer in the basement that I run at modestly subzero
> temperatures. So here's the question: Why do I need to add sodium
> nitrite? I understand that the internal temperature of the sausage will
> pass through the range in which the bacteria thrives at the beginning
> of the smoking process and again when cooling in the refrigerator or
> freezer, but the temperature transitions in total will certainly be
> less than eight hours.
>
> I'm not, by the way, terribly worried either about adding sodium
> nitrite to sausage or about botulism--but I am curious about this.
>
> Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide.


You're not understanding preservation methods and preservation levels.
However you don't need to make cured/preserved sausage, you can make
fresh sausage, which requires no preservatives, and that you can
freeze.

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P.Aitken
 
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Default smoked sausage without sodium nitrite



Jeff Serena wrote:

> I've been thinking about making my own smoked sausage at home, and for
> Christmas my wife kindly gave me a copy of Ruhlman and Polcyn's
> Charcuterie. In it they describe the necessity of using sodium nitrite
> in hot-smoked sausages as an agent to prevent the growth of the
> bacteria responsible for botulism (they also note that it's useful in
> color preservation and possibly even as a flavor enhancer). There's
> something here I don't understand, however, and I hope someone can
> explain it to me.
>
> According to the authors and various sources I found on the Internet,
> the bacteria, spores of which are fairly common in the environment, can
> thrive at temperatures between about 40F and 120F (various sources give
> slightly different ranges), with optimal temperature about 90F. The
> bacteria can survive at somewhat higher and lower temperatures, but do
> not produce the toxin responsible for botulism at those more extreme
> temperatures. The bacteria in optimal conditions are reported to
> require about eight hours to begin producing their potentially deadly
> toxins.
>
> Ruhlman and Polcyn recommend keeping the ingredients for sausage-making
> as cool as possible (at or below 40F preferably) before mixing and
> stuffing--partly for safe handling but mostly for the best results in
> grinding, and they further recommend a temperature of 180F for their
> various hot-smoking recipes. I'll happily follow both instructions. I
> would expect to refrigerate some of the smoked sausage for eating
> within a day or two, and I would freeze the rest for eating later, and
> I have a good freezer in the basement that I run at modestly subzero
> temperatures. So here's the question: Why do I need to add sodium
> nitrite? I understand that the internal temperature of the sausage will
> pass through the range in which the bacteria thrives at the beginning
> of the smoking process and again when cooling in the refrigerator or
> freezer, but the temperature transitions in total will certainly be
> less than eight hours.
>
> I'm not, by the way, terribly worried either about adding sodium
> nitrite to sausage or about botulism--but I am curious about this.
>
> Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide.
>


That's a wonderful book, isn't it? I just got a copy and have made the
pate de campagne and the merguez sausage, both were truly wonderful.

The nitrite inhibits the growth of various bacteria, not just botulinum.
These others are, I believe, not dangerous but can reduce the quality of
the sausage. The nitrite also improves flavor and color. From a safety
perspective the nitrite removes an already slim chance of serious
poisoning - but from a quality standpoint it is essential. Since there
is no health danger in reasonable consumption of nitrite itself (or
nitrate), despite the fervent and ignorant claims of some so-called
"natural food" people, why not use it?

Peter

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Mark Thorson
 
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Default smoked sausage without sodium nitrite

"P.Aitken" wrote:
>
> Since there is no health danger in reasonable consumption
> of nitrite itself (or nitrate), despite the fervent
> and ignorant claims of some so-called
> "natural food" people, why not use it?


The reason to avoid it is not because it's
not natural, but because of the formation
of N-nitroso compounds, which are powerful
carcinogens.


Public Health Rep. 1984 Jul-Aug;99(4):360-4.
Nitrosamines in bacon: a case study of balancing risks.
McCutcheon JW.

Nitrite has been used for centuries to preserve, color,
and flavor meat. Today, about 10 billion pounds of
cured meat products are produced annually, accounting
for some one-tenth of the American food supply.
Regulators became concerned about the safety of using
nitrite in the early 1960s when studies showed the
presence of carcinogenic nitrosamines in cured meat
products. In the early 1970s, a study at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology implicated
nitrite itself as a carcinogen. As studies have raised
concern over the safety of nitrite, regulators have
had to weigh the potential risk from cancer against
nitrite's proven role in protecting consumers from
deadly food poisoning bacteria. Today there is little
scientific support for the theory that nitrite is a
direct carcinogen. To deal with the nitrosamine
problem, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
lowered the permissible amount of nitrite in cured
meats to that level considered necessary for botulism
protection. Regulators, however, found it necessary
to take additional steps with bacon because
nitrosamines were found consistently in fried bacon
samples. In addition to lowering the amount of
nitrite that could be added to "pumped bacon" (cured
by injecting liquid curing agents in the pork belly),
USDA required the addition of nitrosamine inhibitors
and began an intensive monitoring program in
processing plants to ensure that fried bacon did not
contain confirmable nitrosamines. The cooperative
effort between Government and industry resulted in
the virtual elimination of confirmable nitrosamines
in pumped bacon by 1980. USDA is continuing its
efforts to reduce nitrite in meats wherever possible.
It is involved in active research programs in the
Federal Government, academia, and industry.


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Jeff Serena
 
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Default smoked sausage without sodium nitrite

Thanks to everyone for the information.

Peter, it certainly is a wonderful book. Every now and then a cookbook
appears that is founded on the author's passion for a method or an
ingredient or a cuisine, and they're almost always interesting and
usually inspiring. Charcuterie is one of them.

Reg, thank you for the advice. I will give your straight salt
suggestion a try and compare the results with sausages made with sodium
nitrite. It should be interesting--I love a taste test.

Steve, your recollection is exactly right--the temperature given in
Ruhlman and Polcyn for the thriving of potentially dangerous bacteria
is 40F to 140F--thanks for the correction. For C. botulinum
specifically, I found some interesting information in the various
documents I found on the Web this morning. The spores appear to be very
tough--requiring hours of boiling at 212F for reliable destruction, and
up to thirty minutes or even more at 245F in a pressure cooker. The
botulin toxin produced by the bacteria is far less persistent--various
sources suggested that a temperature of 176F is sufficient to break
down the toxin, although the time given by different authors ranged
from ten to thirty minutes at that temperature. The temperature
required for C. botulinum to thrive seems to be less certain. Most
sources give a range of 40F to 120F, but one laboratory study suggested
a range from 37F to 110F, and others varied from the "rule of thumb" by
lesser degrees.

Sheldon, heaven knows I don't know much about preservation methods. I
guess I've been working at drying, smoking, canning, and freezing for a
couple of decades, and the only thing I know for sure is that I don't
know very much about any of it. Fortunately, I can get great advice
from the folks in this discussion group to help me out. Thank you for
your suggestion. I actually do make fresh sausage, but I've never tried
to smoke sausage or anything except whole cuts of meat and fish.

With best regards,

Jeff

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Reg
 
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Default smoked sausage without sodium nitrite

Mark Thorson wrote:

> "P.Aitken" wrote:
>
>>Since there is no health danger in reasonable consumption
>>of nitrite itself (or nitrate), despite the fervent
>>and ignorant claims of some so-called
>>"natural food" people, why not use it?

>
>
> The reason to avoid it is not because it's
> not natural, but because of the formation
> of N-nitroso compounds, which are powerful
> carcinogens.
>


Doesn't apply.

Nitrosomines are only produced by cooking at high heat.
We're talking about cooking at 180 F here, far below the
point at which nitrosomines are formed.

>
> Public Health Rep. 1984 Jul-Aug;99(4):360-4.
> Nitrosamines in bacon: a case study of balancing risks.
> McCutcheon JW.


"Nitrosamines in bacon".

Bacon is cooked at high heat. This doesn't apply to something
smoked at low temp, such at 180 F.

--
Reg email: RegForte (at) (that free MS email service) (dot) com

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P.Aitken
 
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Default smoked sausage without sodium nitrite



Mark Thorson wrote:

> "P.Aitken" wrote:
>
>>Since there is no health danger in reasonable consumption
>>of nitrite itself (or nitrate), despite the fervent
>>and ignorant claims of some so-called
>>"natural food" people, why not use it?

>
>
> The reason to avoid it is not because it's
> not natural, but because of the formation
> of N-nitroso compounds, which are powerful
> carcinogens.
>
>


What people overlook is the question of whether this actually poses a
health risk, even a small one. The world is full of carcinogens, and
many natural foods contain nitrates and compounds that are known
carcinogens. AFAIK there has been no evidence whatsoever that
nitrites/nitrates in cured meat actually had made a single person ill
(aside from the small % of people who have a nitrate sensitivity). The
current thinking is that the body has mechanisms for dealing with small
levels of many toxic and carcinogenic compounds without any ill effects.

Peter

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Mark Thorson
 
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Default smoked sausage without sodium nitrite

Steve Wertz wrote:
>
> The human body produces nitrites. Here's a more reasonable
> article that covers all aspects of nitrites/nitrate formations,
> not just one study from 20 years ago.
>
> http://www.askthemeatman.com/how_and...um_nitrite.htm


But that's on a site SELLING nitrite for use in meat,
and it is based on a 18-year-old report,
so why should it be considered any more credible?
Also, it's unlikely or wrong in several ways,
for example:

$ Does nitrite cause childhood cancers or leukemia?
$
$ No, there is no credible scientific evidence that
$ nitrite or cured foods cause or contribute
$ to childhood cancers or leukemia. At one time,
$ epidemiological reports associating these
$ factors garnered much media attention. However,
$ these studies had limitations, mixed
$ findings and, as all epidemiological studies,
$ could not prove cause and effect.

$ How are NOCs formed?
$
$ NOCs, including nitrosamines and nitrosamides,
$ are formed by a process called
$ N-nitrosation. With the presence of nitrite,
$ this process can take place in the human
$ stomach. (Because nitrosamines are much more
$ stable after food processing than
$ nitrosamides, they are of greater potential
$ concern.)

Here's much more credible information on childhood
cancers and the difference between nitrosamines
and nitrosamides:

Cancer Causes Control. 2005 Aug;16(6):619-35.
A review: dietary and endogenously formed N-nitroso
compounds and risk of childhood brain tumors.
Dietrich M, Block G, Pogoda JM, Buffler P,
Hecht S, Preston-Martin S.
School of Public Health, University of
California-Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-7360, USA.

Maternal dietary exposure to N-nitroso compounds
(NOC) or to their precursors during
pregnancy has been associated with risk of
childhood brain tumors. Cured meat is one source of
exposure to dietary NOC and their precursors.
Most epidemiological studies that have examined
the role of maternal consumption of cured meats
during pregnancy have found a significant
positive association between maternal intake
of cured meat and the risk of childhood brain tumor
(CBT). NOC consist of two main groups,
N-nitrosamines and N-nitrosamides. The
carcinogenicity profiles of NOC suggest that
N-nitrosamides rather than N-nitrosamines are the
compounds that may be associated with CBT
and that they should be investigated more closely
in epidemiological studies. We present a review
of the chemical and carcinogenic properties of
NOC in connection with the findings of case-control
studies. This approach may be helpful in
determining the essential information that
must be collected in future epidemiological studies on
CBT.


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Mark Thorson
 
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Default smoked sausage without sodium nitrite

Reg wrote:
>
> Bacon is cooked at high heat. This doesn't apply to something
> smoked at low temp, such at 180 F.


While cooking can increase N-nitroso compounds
in cured meat, they also form in the intestines
from reaction with haem iron (degradation product
from blood -- maybe the rabbis were on
to something when they formulated the kosher
dietary laws, which require thorough removal
of blood from meat). See for example:


Cancer Res. 2003 May 15;63(10):2358-60.
Haem, not protein or inorganic iron, is responsible
for endogenous intestinal N-nitrosation arising
from red meat.
Cross AJ, Pollock JR, Bingham SA.
Medical Research Council, Dunn Human Nutrition Unit,
Wellcome Trust/MRC Building, Cambridge CB2 2XY,
United Kingdom.

Many N-nitroso compounds (NOC) are carcinogens.
In this controlled study of 21 healthy male
volunteers, levels of NOC on a high (420 grams)
red meat diet were significantly greater (P =
0.001) than on a low (60 grams) meat diet but
not significantly greater when an equivalent
amount of vegetable protein was fed. An 8-mg
supplement of haem iron also increased fecal
NOC (P = 0.006) compared with the low meat diet,
but 35-mg ferrous iron had no effect.
Endogenous N-nitrosation, arising from ingestion
of haem but not inorganic iron or protein, may
account for the increased risk associated with
red meat consumption in colorectal cancer.
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Reg
 
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Default smoked sausage without sodium nitrite

Mark Thorson wrote:

> Reg wrote:
>
>>Bacon is cooked at high heat. This doesn't apply to something
>>smoked at low temp, such at 180 F.

>
>
> While cooking can increase N-nitroso compounds
> in cured meat, they also form in the intestines
> from reaction with haem iron (degradation product
> from blood -- maybe the rabbis were on
> to something when they formulated the kosher
> dietary laws, which require thorough removal
> of blood from meat). See for example:
>


This has nothing to do with your point about nitrites,
again, so you're 0 for 2 on the issue.

If you're making the point that one is possibly at
least marginally safer by eliminating red meat from
their diet altogether, I won't dispute it. There is at
least some evidence of that, unlike the claim about
nitrites.



>
> Cancer Res. 2003 May 15;63(10):2358-60.
> Haem, not protein or inorganic iron, is responsible
> for endogenous intestinal N-nitrosation arising
> from red meat.
> Cross AJ, Pollock JR, Bingham SA.
> Medical Research Council, Dunn Human Nutrition Unit,
> Wellcome Trust/MRC Building, Cambridge CB2 2XY,
> United Kingdom.
>
> Many N-nitroso compounds (NOC) are carcinogens.
> In this controlled study of 21 healthy male
> volunteers, levels of NOC on a high (420 grams)
> red meat diet were significantly greater (P =
> 0.001) than on a low (60 grams) meat diet but
> not significantly greater when an equivalent
> amount of vegetable protein was fed. An 8-mg
> supplement of haem iron also increased fecal
> NOC (P = 0.006) compared with the low meat diet,
> but 35-mg ferrous iron had no effect.
> Endogenous N-nitrosation, arising from ingestion
> of haem but not inorganic iron or protein, may
> account for the increased risk associated with
> red meat consumption in colorectal cancer.


--
Reg email: RegForte (at) (that free MS email service) (dot) com

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Mark Thorson
 
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Default smoked sausage without sodium nitrite

Reg wrote:
>
> This has nothing to do with your point about nitrites,
> again, so you're 0 for 2 on the issue.


Your count is a bit off. You said (without citing
any source) that:

> Nitrosomines are only produced by cooking at high heat.
> We're talking about cooking at 180 F here, far below the
> point at which nitrosomines are formed.


In other posts, I have provided documentation
from reliable scientific journals that:

a) Nitrite used for curing meat causes formation
of N-nitroso compounds.

and

b) N-nitroso compounds are formed in the intestines
from precursors in cured meat, in addition to the
contribution from cooking cured meat.

Just for fun, here's even more documentation:


Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 1996 Aug;5(8):599-605.
Maternal consumption of cured meats and vitamins
in relation to pediatric brain tumors.
Preston-Martin S, Pogoda JM, Mueller BA, Holly EA,
Lijinsky W, Davis RL.
Department of Preventive Medicine, University of
Southern California/Norris Comprehensive
Cancer Center, Los Angeles 90033-0800, USA.

Brain tumors are the leading cause of death from
childhood cancer, yet the causes of most of
these tumors remain obscure. Few chemicals are
effective in causing brain tumors experimentally
after systemic administration of low doses; a
notable exception is one group of N-nitroso
compounds, the nitrosamides (in particular the
nitrosoureas). Feeding pregnant animals
nitrosamide precursors (e.g., sodium nitrite and
an alkylamide such as ethylurea) causes a high
incidence of nervous system tumors in offspring.
This population-based epidemiological study
was designed to test the hypothesis that maternal
consumption during pregnancy of meats cured
with sodium nitrite increases the risk of brain
tumors among offspring. The intake of vitamins C
and E blocks endogenous formation of nitroso
compounds and was expected to be protective.
Mothers of 540 children under age 20 with a
primary brain tumor diagnosed during 1984-1991
and 801 control children in the same 19 counties
on the U.S. West Coast were interviewed. Risk
increased with increasing frequency of eating
processed meats [odds ratio (OR) = 2.1 for eating
at least twice a day compared to not eating; 95%
confidence interval (CI) = 1.3-3.2; P = 0.003).
Risk also increased with increasing average daily
grams of cured meats or mg of nitrite from
cured meats (P for each <0.005) but not with
nitrate from vegetables. Daily use of prenatal
vitamins throughout the pregnancy decreased risk
(OR = 0.54; CI = 0.39-0.75). Risk among
mothers who consumed above the median level of
nitrite from cured meat was greater if vitamins
were not taken (OR = 2.4; CI = 1.4-3.6) than if
they were (OR = 1.3). These effects were
evident for each of three major histological
types and across social classes, age groups, and
geographic areas. This largest study to date of
maternal diet and childhood brain tumors suggests
that exposure during gestation to endogenously
formed nitroso compounds may be associated
with tumor occurrence. Laboratory exploration is
needed to: (a) define dietary sources of
exposure to alkylamides; (b) investigate the
reactivity of nitrite in high concentration such
as around bits of cured meats in the stomach
after ingestion compared to nitrite in dilute
solution; and (c) confirm that simultaneous
ingestion of alkylamides and cured meats leads
to the endogenous formation of nitrosamides.


Nutr Cancer. 2002;42(1):70-7.
Effect of vegetables, tea, and soy on endogenous
N-nitrosation, fecal ammonia, and fecal water
genotoxicity during a high red meat diet in
humans.
Hughes R, Pollock JR, Bingham S.
Dunn Human Nutrition Unit, Medical Research Council,
Cambridge CB2 2XY, UK.

Red meat increases colonic N-nitrosation, and
this may explain the positive epidemiological
relationship between red meat intake and colorectal
cancer risk. Vegetables, tea, and soy have
been shown to block N-nitroso compound (NOC)
formation and are associated with protection
against colorectal cancer. To determine whether
these supplements affect fecal NOC excretion
during consumption of a high red meat (420 g/day)
diet, 11 male volunteers were studied over a
randomized series of 15-day dietary periods. Seven
of these subjects completed a further dietary
period to test the effects of soy (100 g/day).
Soy significantly suppressed fecal apparent total
NOC (ATNC) concentration (P = 0.02), but
supplements of vegetables (400 g/day as 134 g
broccoli, 134 g brussels sprouts, and 134 g petits
pois) and tea extract (3 g/day) did not affect
mean levels of fecal ATNC, nitrogen and ammonia
excretion, and fecal water genotoxicity.
However, fecal weight was increased (P < 0.001)
and associated with reduced transit time (r =
0.594, P < 0.0001), so that contact between ATNC,
nitrite, and ammonia and the large bowel
mucosa would have been reduced. Longer transit
times were associated with elevated fecal
ATNC concentrations (r = 0.42, P = 0.002). Fecal
nitrite was significantly suppressed during the
tea supplement compared with the meat-only
(P = 0.0028) and meat + vegetables diets (P =
0.005 for microgram NO2/g).
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Reg
 
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Default smoked sausage without sodium nitrite

Mark Thorson wrote:

> Reg wrote:
>
>>This has nothing to do with your point about nitrites,
>>again, so you're 0 for 2 on the issue.

>
> Your count is a bit off. You said (without citing
> any source) that:
>
>>Nitrosomines are only produced by cooking at high heat.
>>We're talking about cooking at 180 F here, far below the
>>point at which nitrosomines are formed.

>
>
> In other posts, I have provided documentation
> from reliable scientific journals that:
>
> a) Nitrite used for curing meat causes formation
> of N-nitroso compounds.
>
> and
>
> b) N-nitroso compounds are formed in the intestines
> from precursors in cured meat, in addition to the
> contribution from cooking cured meat.


I appreciate the citations and your relatively thorough
presentation, but I disagree with the significance of
these studies and the conclusions you've apparently
derived from them.

Here's an article called "Smoked Meats Are Safe, Task Force
Concludes".

It's based on a study by U of Wisconson and it goes to
the heart of the issue of nitrates and nitrites. This
material is much more on point than what you've cited.

http://www.news.wisc.edu/3325.html

To summarize:

Nitrites, chemicals used to process hot dogs, smoked
hams, and sausages, have been under fire in recent
years from epidemiologists who had found a link between
cured meats and certain childhood cancers. However,
an interdisciplinary task force of scientists concluded
in a recently issued report that there is virtually
no scientific rationale for this conclusion.

Here's a copy of the study that the article is based
on written by the Council for Agricultural Science and
Technology (410 kb PDF).

http://www.savefile.com/files/2075083

--
Reg email: RegForte (at) (that free MS email service) (dot) com



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Mark Thorson
 
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Default smoked sausage without sodium nitrite

Reg wrote:
>
> I appreciate the citations and your relatively thorough
> presentation, but I disagree with the significance of
> these studies and the conclusions you've apparently
> derived from them.
>
> Here's an article called "Smoked Meats Are Safe, Task Force
> Concludes".
>
> It's based on a study by U of Wisconson and it goes to
> the heart of the issue of nitrates and nitrites. This
> material is much more on point than what you've cited.
>
> http://www.news.wisc.edu/3325.html


Note that this report (not a study) dates from
January, 1998, before much of the more recent
information I posted was published. Their
article was not published in a peer-reviewed
scientific journal, and although it may
have reflected reasonable opinion back
in 1998, it could not pass peer review in
any scientific journal today.

For example, they say:

$ "Nitrites can react with amines to form
$ nitrosamines, which are known cancer causers,"
$ said Robert Cassens, emeritus professor of
$ animal science at the UW-Madison who has
$ extensively studied nitrites in cured meats.
$
$ Even so, there have been no nitrosamines
$ found in cured meats through analytical
$ chemistry techniques, said Cassens.
$ Hypothetically, a small risk of cancer might
$ come from nitrites remaining in meat that is
$ eaten by people who may already have
$ amines in their stomachs, Cassens said.
$ Certain medicines contain amines, for example.

That's very obsolete information, and no
respectable scientist would put forward that
argument today as support for the notion that
nitrates in cured meats are safe. Although
nitrosamines are powerful carcinogens, nitrosamides
are the greater concern:


Cancer Causes Control. 2005 Aug;16(6):619-35.
A review: dietary and endogenously formed N-nitroso
compounds and risk of childhood brain tumors.
Dietrich M, Block G, Pogoda JM, Buffler P,
Hecht S, Preston-Martin S.
School of Public Health, University of
California-Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-7360, USA.

Maternal dietary exposure to N-nitroso compounds
(NOC) or to their precursors during
pregnancy has been associated with risk of
childhood brain tumors. Cured meat is one source of
exposure to dietary NOC and their precursors.
Most epidemiological studies that have examined
the role of maternal consumption of cured meats
during pregnancy have found a significant
positive association between maternal intake
of cured meat and the risk of childhood brain tumor
(CBT). NOC consist of two main groups,
N-nitrosamines and N-nitrosamides. The
carcinogenicity profiles of NOC suggest that
N-nitrosamides rather than N-nitrosamines are the
compounds that may be associated with CBT
and that they should be investigated more closely
in epidemiological studies. We present a review
of the chemical and carcinogenic properties of
NOC in connection with the findings of case-control
studies. This approach may be helpful in
determining the essential information that
must be collected in future epidemiological studies on
CBT.


And even though the level of N-nitroso compounds in
uncooked nitrite-laden cured meat may be insignificant,
the nitrite and haem iron act as precursors for
formation of N-nitroso compounds in the intestines
(which is called "endogenous N-nitrosation"):


Cancer Res. 2003 May 15;63(10):2358-60.
Haem, not protein or inorganic iron, is responsible
for endogenous intestinal N-nitrosation arising
from red meat.
Cross AJ, Pollock JR, Bingham SA.
Medical Research Council, Dunn Human Nutrition Unit,
Wellcome Trust/MRC Building, Cambridge CB2 2XY,
United Kingdom.

Many N-nitroso compounds (NOC) are carcinogens.
In this controlled study of 21 healthy male
volunteers, levels of NOC on a high (420 grams)
red meat diet were significantly greater (P =
0.001) than on a low (60 grams) meat diet but
not significantly greater when an equivalent
amount of vegetable protein was fed. An 8-mg
supplement of haem iron also increased fecal
NOC (P = 0.006) compared with the low meat diet,
but 35-mg ferrous iron had no effect.
Endogenous N-nitrosation, arising from ingestion
of haem but not inorganic iron or protein, may
account for the increased risk associated with
red meat consumption in colorectal cancer.
  #17 (permalink)   Report Post  
Posted to rec.food.cooking
Mark Thorson
 
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Default smoked sausage without sodium nitrite

Mark Thorson wrote:
>
> That's very obsolete information, and no
> respectable scientist would put forward that
> argument today as support for the notion that
> nitrates in cured meats are safe.


^^^^^^^^ I meant nitrites.
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