Nitrites & Nitrates
E249–E251
E249, E250, E251, INS 249, INS 250, INS 251, nitrite, nitrites, nitrate, nitrates, potassium nitrite, sodium nitrite, sodium nitrate
What it is
Nitrites and nitrates are curing preservatives used especially in processed and cured meats. E249 and E250 are potassium and sodium nitrite; E251 is sodium nitrate.
Why BOTIA flags it
Nitrite preserves cured meat and inhibits Clostridium botulinum, the bacterium that causes botulism. Under some conditions nitrite can react with other compounds in food to form N-nitroso compounds; IARC classified processed meat — not nitrite itself — as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1) in 2015. JECFA set separate ADIs: 0–0.07 mg/kg body weight per day for nitrite and 0–3.7 mg/kg for nitrate.
BOTIA CAN
- Detect E249, E250, E251, INS 249–251 and the corresponding potassium nitrite, sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate names.
- Explain why nitrite is used in cured meat, its role against botulism, its ability to participate in N-nitroso compound formation, the IARC processed-meat classification and the separate JECFA ADIs.
BOTIA CANNOT
- Determine from the ingredient list how much nitrite or nitrate was added, how much remains after curing, or how much N-nitroso compound formed.
- Treat the IARC Group 1 classification of processed meat as a classification of nitrite itself or calculate an individual's cancer risk from one label.