Tanner and I have been working with outside processors for a long time now, and one thing we have always requested is a “natural cure” for our smoked bacon products. The most common “natural cure” is celery juice powder (or something similar like beet, cherry, etc.). Now that we’re running our own butcher and making our bacon in house, we’ve learned a thing or two (or 1,000) and have decided to turn our backs on celery juice powder. Why? Well, mostly because it isn’t really natural, and can actually be worse than “artificial” nitrate. In fact, there was even an attempt to get celery juice powder banned from use in certified organic foods in 2019. However, it was shot down, likely because some sort of nitrate has to be added to smoked products, and celery juice powder deceivingly sounds the healthiest. But at the end of the day, the whole purpose of coating meat in celery juice powder is for the nitrates.

Spoiler Alert: for our smoked bacon, we are doing away with celery juice powder and switching to pink salt (not really salt, it’s artificial nitrate) - because using celery juice powder (or something similar) is deceiving to consumers as it isn't nitrate free. For those that want truly natural and nitrate free bacon, we are offering two more varieties of truly uncured bacon – our Uncured Savory Bacon, (containing just seasonings, salt, and pepper), and Uncured Bacon (with just salt and pepper only). The two nitrate-free options are not smoked and will not last as long in the fridge since there is no nitrate, but they’re very scrumptious. Also, they will cook a little slower, and you may notice a grey tint. That is because there is zero nitrate. 

There's one thing I want to be crystal clear about – the nitrate will only be in smoked products, since nitrates have to be added to smoked products to prevent botulism from forming (whether it is through celery juice powder or sodium nitrate) - and the reaction between the nitrates and the meat causes hams to turn into the nice pink color and more tender. Otherwise with no sort of nitrate (rather it be in celery juice powder or sodium nitrate) the meat will be gray.  In conventional meats, nitrates are also commonly added in non smoked products to extend shelf life, however for 1915, we will only use it in smoked products as that’s the only place we see it as necessary to keep our meats safe.

A little more info on Nitrates... 

While the common perception regarding nitrates is that they may not be great for you, actually most of the nitrates and nitrites we consume are in the form of leafy vegetables. Most of humans nitrate consumption is going to come from leafy vegetables, as there is nitrogen in the soil which accumulates in the plant forming nitrates and nitrites. Even water can contain a small amount of nitrate and nitrites, at much higher quantities than processed meats. Less than 5% of our nitrate consumption comes from processed meats. 

When nitrates are cooked at high temperatures in combination with amino acids from the meat, it’s possible that the nitrites can convert to nitrosamines, which "may" be carcinogenic. This information motivated many people to buy ‘nitrate-free’ bacon, which they’ll likely pay a premium for. The labels of the nitrate-free bacons always mention in small print, “except for nitrates naturally occurring in celery juice powder.” Moral of the story: products marketed as nitrate free or uncured, still have nitrates.

The question we as consumers might consider asking is – how exactly do nitrites from celery differ from artificial or “sodium nitrate”? 

Any studies you find showing that nitrates "may" be carcinogenic, will be of all forms of nitrates, regardless of source (manufactured or plant based), as nitrate is a molecule, one nitrogen atom and three oxygen atoms NO3-. So basically, it's the same molecule with the same effects on the body. A nitrate is a nitrate, regardless of source, that breaks down the same in the body. 

The main difference when it comes to meat package labeling, is you don't have to list nitrate in the ingredients on a package when the nitrates are from celery juice powder, and it can even be marketed as "nitrate free" as long as their is fine print somewhere on the package that says "besides those naturally occurring in celery juice powder." 

Why do we need nitrates anyway?

Why not just let the bacon or ham be? Well, when it comes to the salting and smoking of meat, a technique of preserving meat humans have been using for millennia – we must use nitrates to avoid botulism, a form of food poisoning.  Nitrates also keeps certain bacterias from growing, and slows the growth of other pathogenic bacterias like listeria. Moral of the story: it's for food safety. 

Certified Organic 

The growing popularity of food products marketed as “organic” or “all natural” has resulted in a major effort to meet consumer demands. But is it genuine? 

Certified organic foods are not permitted to use manufactured preservatives, including the traditional curing agents, nitrite and/or nitrates, for bacon, salami, deli meats, etc., The solution – celery juice powder. However, the nitrates in celery juice powder are still …nitrates (NO3-). And this so-called better for you bacon may contain more nitrate than conventional bacon. Keep in mind, when using "celery" for the nitrates to cure the meat, it isn't simply rubbing a few stalks on the meat. This is highly concentrated stuff. 

There are regulations put in place by the USDA with regard to curing meat with sodium nitrite. Surprisingly, there are no limits for use of celery powder for nitrite, as it’s not recognized as a curing agent by the USDA. That knowledge, compounded with the fact that non-organic celery is used to produce celery powder, plus the irony that celery absorbs the highest level of pesticides according to the Environmental Working Group…lead us to begin seriously questioning whether celery juice is the healthiest back in the day. We weren’t the only ones with doubts – in 2019, Consumer Reports and Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) petitioned the USDA to revise its labeling laws around the ingredient, which they said were “actively misleading” to consumers. The petition was unsuccessful, resulting in an 11-1 vote and a statement from the USDA: “In terms of human health risks from nitrates/nitrites in food, there is no difference between celery or other plant-based nitrate sources versus synthetic nitrates and nitrites used on non-organic meats.” And listen to this – the USDA doesn’t even recognize celery powder as a safe curing agent for meats, requiring meats that use celery powder as the curing agent to be labeled “Uncured.” Talk about a win for companies trying to market their products as “healthier,” but what I’d consider a major loss for consumers and transparency.

As we brought meat processing in-house this year with the opening of the 1915 Meatery, we experienced first-hand just how much celery juice powder it took to safely cure pork bellies for bacon. Not knowing the amount of nitrate occurring in the celery juice powder made us question whether this was the right move. If people understood how little pink salt (nitrate) is required for smoked products to prevent harmful bacteria when you start with pasture raised, high-quality meat, we think they might have a less negative response to seeing nitrates on a label. 

This just goes to show the importance of having the opportunity to know your farmer and ask these questions, or in this case, know your butcher. 

To reiterate, we have multiple bacon options to choose from – from our Smoked Bacon (that does have nitrate) to our 100% Uncured varieties, because we want to give you the ability to choose whatever you feel is best for you and your family. 

To be 100% honest, I don’t love the fact that “sodium nitrate” will be listed on the ingredients of our smoked products, as I know I will likely get inundated with questions about being “natural,” but the truth is, when it comes to nitrates (regardless of source), natural doesn’t exist in my book. It’d be so much easier to just use celery juice powder, but I’m not going to market bacon cured with celery juice powder as natural or nitrate-free, because it is not. I feel like it’s deceiving and misleading. The best I can do is explain our decision to you, express our why, help educate, and offer multiple options to enjoy our pasture raised bacon.

Comment below if you have any questions! 

Sources: Wisc.edu, euronews.com, govinfo.gov, cbsnews.com, TheCounter.org, cspinet.org