"Anti-Oxidants - Pros and Cons"
Posted: Sat Sep 28, 2013 16:55
This topic is continued from the split topic: Seeking Sumac Sausages. at this link: http://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.ph ... sc&start=0
Hi Chuck !
I think this now calls for a new topic or thread on "Anti-Oxidants - Pros and Cons" or something in that vein as I sense a whiff of witch hunt regarding the use of sodium erythorbate in cured meats. I`mean: if somebody would force me to swollow either a teaspoon of pure sodium nitrite or a teaspoon of pure sodium erythorbate it wouldn´t take me too long to make up my mind.
Sodium erythorbate might be a chemical ingredient but so is salt - and everything can be harmful or even lethal. It´s just a matter of dosage. And you can leave out erythorbate - just as you can leave out cure, as long as you are aware what the consequences may be....
Personally I would NEVER EVER leave out neither:
Ascorbic Acid
Sodium Ascorbate or
Sodium Erythorbate
in any product made with the use of cure (sodium nitrite & potassium nitrate)
Because with the use of these anti-oxidants you reduce the healt hazard connected with possible residue of sodium nitrite that hasn´t been properly reduced to nitrogen oxide. It might be streching my point a bit too far if I claim that sodium erythorbate will save you from stomach cancer caused by nitrosamnes in products where these anti-oxidants were NOT used. But still.... Doesn´t it feel better to be on the safe side?
An important factor is always the practically applied dosis of an ingredient;
The average dosage of sodium ascorbate or erythorbate (the latter being a stereoisomer of sodium ascorbate) should not be higher than 0,06% pr. kg. cured meat. Which means that you will have to eat one kilogram of cured sausage to get half a gram of erythorbate into your body. The closest "natural" analogue of erythorbate is ascorbic acid of which the Tolerable Upper Intake Level in the US is 2.000 mg. And please know that with two grams of ascorbic acid (or erythorbate) you would ruin the nice red cure color alltogether
Also, if I had an assumption that a too high dosage of cure had been added to a product that was to cooked shortly after curing (frankfurters etc.) I would simply not allow the product to be made without adding max. dosage of one of the mentioned anti-oxidants.
So, my advice is: Start looking at the mentioned anti-oxidants as remedies that, in the best case, may contribute to save us from something far worse.
If chemical additives is an issue for any of you then you should look up standardized extract of Acerola berries (Malpighia emarginata) which can replace Ascorbic Acid / Sodium Ascorbate, but make sure how to handle the dosage level.
And remember: Ascorbic Acid is a NO GO (Skulls and crossbones) in any fermented meat product where it may get into direct contact with the cure (sodium nitrite).
For salamis and cured elements use ONLY sodium ascorbate or sodium erythorbate.
Hi Chuck !
I think this now calls for a new topic or thread on "Anti-Oxidants - Pros and Cons" or something in that vein as I sense a whiff of witch hunt regarding the use of sodium erythorbate in cured meats. I`mean: if somebody would force me to swollow either a teaspoon of pure sodium nitrite or a teaspoon of pure sodium erythorbate it wouldn´t take me too long to make up my mind.
Sodium erythorbate might be a chemical ingredient but so is salt - and everything can be harmful or even lethal. It´s just a matter of dosage. And you can leave out erythorbate - just as you can leave out cure, as long as you are aware what the consequences may be....
Personally I would NEVER EVER leave out neither:
Ascorbic Acid
Sodium Ascorbate or
Sodium Erythorbate
in any product made with the use of cure (sodium nitrite & potassium nitrate)
Because with the use of these anti-oxidants you reduce the healt hazard connected with possible residue of sodium nitrite that hasn´t been properly reduced to nitrogen oxide. It might be streching my point a bit too far if I claim that sodium erythorbate will save you from stomach cancer caused by nitrosamnes in products where these anti-oxidants were NOT used. But still.... Doesn´t it feel better to be on the safe side?
An important factor is always the practically applied dosis of an ingredient;
The average dosage of sodium ascorbate or erythorbate (the latter being a stereoisomer of sodium ascorbate) should not be higher than 0,06% pr. kg. cured meat. Which means that you will have to eat one kilogram of cured sausage to get half a gram of erythorbate into your body. The closest "natural" analogue of erythorbate is ascorbic acid of which the Tolerable Upper Intake Level in the US is 2.000 mg. And please know that with two grams of ascorbic acid (or erythorbate) you would ruin the nice red cure color alltogether
Also, if I had an assumption that a too high dosage of cure had been added to a product that was to cooked shortly after curing (frankfurters etc.) I would simply not allow the product to be made without adding max. dosage of one of the mentioned anti-oxidants.
So, my advice is: Start looking at the mentioned anti-oxidants as remedies that, in the best case, may contribute to save us from something far worse.
If chemical additives is an issue for any of you then you should look up standardized extract of Acerola berries (Malpighia emarginata) which can replace Ascorbic Acid / Sodium Ascorbate, but make sure how to handle the dosage level.
And remember: Ascorbic Acid is a NO GO (Skulls and crossbones) in any fermented meat product where it may get into direct contact with the cure (sodium nitrite).
For salamis and cured elements use ONLY sodium ascorbate or sodium erythorbate.