10 Things you should never feed your kids - Number 9

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The culprit – Nitrites and Nitrates

The problems – Nitrites and Nitrates are added to meat along with salt during the curing process. They have two roles. First they prevent the development of harmful bacterial spores that cause botulism and secondly they provide flavoring and the pink/ red color found in cured meat products. These products are salamis, hot dogs, bologna, bacon, sausages in fact almost anything that has been cured. The problem is that they produce nitrosamines which are carcinogenic. Many countries have banned their use including Germany- (sausage capital of the world!! ). There are many studies linking hot dogs and other foods to childhood cancer and  other problems. See link for more info.   http://www.preventcancer.com/consumers/food/hotdogs.htm   

The solution – buy products which are Nitrite and Nitrate free which are different from ‘ No Nitrates or Nitrites added’ products as these may still have these products present as a component of the curing ingredients they are using. Whole Foods, Frazier Farms and Jimbo’s  carry Nitrite free products.