Nitrite plays a major role in the curing of meats. However, the potential problem of
nitrosamine formation has been responsible for reduction or elimination of
nitrate and
nitrite in curing. Reduced amounts of
nitrite in curing can provide less protection against
botulism, and subsequent investigations have examined solutions to this situation. Residual
nitrite has been reduced by limiting the ingoing
nitrite and by introducing curing substances, i.e.,
phosphates, lactobacillus cultures, and phenolic
smoke compounds, to lower the pH. Ascorbates,
alpha-tocopherol and other blocking agents have been used with
nitrite in an attempt to devise a curing system that can provide a safe product with the color and flavor associated with
nitrite-cured products while retarding nitrosopyrrolidine formation. This review focuses on the efficacy of various curing methods using
nitrites that have the goal of reducing formation of
nitrosamines.