Expert: Carol Schlitt - 6/19/2006

Question
I understand that curing salt is important when making dried sausages. However I have been told that it is dangerous to eat. I wondered if you could tell me when does it stop being dangerous?  More specifically, if I am using curing salt would it be dangerous to cook or eat the meat that is being cured soon after the curing salt has been added ie. before the meat has been filled in sausage skins and dried. I ask this because when I used to make sausages with my grandparents (who did not use curing salt) they would often cook up some of the salted prepared meat for lunch to break up a long day of sausage making. Also they would taste the meat (raw) for seasoning a few hours after salting.  Can I do this safely if I am using curing salt?

Answer
Hi Leonie,

Curing salt typically contains a combination of high grade salt, sugar, both sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite, curing agents and propylene glycol to keep the mixture uniform. It is generally dyed a pink color so that it can be easily recognized from regular salts. Curing salt is used to change the osmotic pressure in the meat mixture which in turn decreases the growth rate of harmful bacteria.

The problem with curing salts are that they contain nitrities which can be converted in the stomach into nitrosamines -- which are known carcinogens. It is unknown at what levels, if any, nitrosamines are formed in humans after they eat cured meat products, or what constitutes a dangerous level in meat or in humans.

An excellent, research-based article on nitrites in meat is from the University of Minnesota Extension: http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/nutrition/DJ0974.html

So to answer your question -- "When does it stop being dangerous?" -- is based on the amount used and the quantity consumed.  Meats that use curing salt are not eaten during the curing process. You must wait until the curing process is complete before consumption. Your grandparents were not using curing salt and thus were making a fresh sausage mixture that could be cooked immediately after preparation.

I suggest you read the following research-based resource on making cured meats at home and follow the recipes provided for making sausages:  http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/cure_smoke.html

I hope this helps Leonie -- please let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Carol C. Schlitt
Extension Educator, Nutrition and Wellness
University of Illinois Extension