Sodium nitrite
What you need to know
Sodium nitrite cures bacon, ham and other processed meats. It prevents botulism — one of the most dangerous food-poisoning bacteria — and gives cured meat its pink colour.
The concern is not nitrite itself but the nitrosamines that can form from it during high-heat cooking and digestion. Nitrosamines are linked to bowel cancer, and processed meat as a category is classified as carcinogenic by IARC.
Regulators everywhere still permit it because the botulism protection is real, but the EU cut the maximum levels in 2023 and the daily intake limit is one of the smallest of any additive.
Where it stands, by region
The same additive can be approved in one country and banned in another. This is the divergence that matters most.
| 🇦🇺AU / NZ | Approved Permitted in cured meats with maximum levels (FSANZ). |
| 🇪🇺EU | Restricted Permitted with maximum levels cut in 2023 (Reg. 2023/2108) over nitrosamine concerns. |
| 🇺🇸US | Approved Permitted with limits; ascorbate addition required in bacon to suppress nitrosamines. |
| 🇨🇦CA | Approved Permitted in cured meats with maximum levels. |
Health evidence
How settled the science is for each area — not how dangerous. “Unknown” means not enough good studies yet.
NaNO₂. ADI 0.07 mg/kg bw/day (EFSA 2017 re-evaluation). EU Regulation 2023/2108 lowered permitted levels in meat products from 2025. Key concern: endogenous nitrosamine formation.