Sodium nitrite

Nitrite can react in the stomach and in cured meat to form N-nitroso compounds, some of which cause cancer in animals. IARC classifies ingested nitrite under these conditions as probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A). In 2022 France's food safety agency confirmed a link between nitrite and nitrate exposure and colorectal cancer and recommended cutting their use in cured meats. In 2023 EFSA found that nitrosamine intake, mostly from meat products, raises a health concern. EFSA and FDA permit nitrite within set limits because it prevents botulism.

The human evidence is observational: large French cohort studies (2022, 2026) linked nitrite additives to prostate cancer but can't prove cause. The amount in this product isn't declared.

Moderate evidence · Presence only; amount unknown · General population

1. IARC Monographs Volume 94: Ingested nitrate and nitrite (Group 2A under conditions that result in endogenous nitrosation), International Agency for Research on Cancer
2. Reducing dietary exposure to nitrites and nitrates, French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES)
3. Risk assessment of N-nitrosamines in food, European Food Safety Authority
4. Intake of food additive preservatives and incidence of cancer: results from the NutriNet-Santé prospective cohort, The BMJ (Hasenböhler et al.)
5. Nitrites and nitrates from food additives and natural sources and cancer risk: results from the NutriNet-Santé cohort, International Journal of Epidemiology (Chazelas et al.)
6. Re-evaluation of potassium nitrite (E 249) and sodium nitrite (E 250) as food additives, European Food Safety Authority