Bacon, Clostridium botulinum

Nitrates are found in fairly high concentrations in beets, spinach, kale, coUards, eggplant, celery, and lettuce. AdditionaHy, nitrates and nitrites are commonly used in the curing solutions of bacon, ham, and other cured meats. In cured meats, nitrates and nitrites control the growth of microorganisms, particularly Clostridium botulinum, and also serve as color preservatives. 

Nitrosamines can be formed when amines that occur naturally in food react with sodium nitrite, NaN02, a preservative added to meats such as ham, bacon, and hot dogs to inhibit the growth of Clostridium botulinum, a bacterium responsible for a lethal form of food poisoning. Nitrosamines may also be formed in vivo in the gastrointestinal tract when bacteria in the body convert nitrates (N03 ) into nitrites (NO2 ), which then react with amines. 

Table XVIII. Effect of L-Ascorbic Acid on Clostridium botulinum in Vacuum Packed Bacon...

Sodium nitrite is added to many meats (e.g., bacon, ham, frankfurters, sausages, and cxrrned beet) to inhibit the growth of Clostridium botulinum (the bacterium that produces botulinus toxin) and to keep red meats from turning brown. (Food poisoning by botuiinus toxin is often fatal.) In the presence of acid or under the influence of heat, sodium nitrite reacts with amines always present in the meat to produce A/-nitrosoamines. Cooked bacon, for example, has been shown to contain A/-nitrosodi-methylamine and A/-nitrosopyrrolidine. 

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