Calculating sodium nitrite in meat and sausage cures
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Calculating Nitrates
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Calculating Nitrites
Parts
per million can be calculated as follows :
Ppm =
sodium nitrite (in grams) x 1,000,000 (1 million) / weight of cured meat (in
grams)
For
example if we use 1 gram of pure sodium nitrite
to cure 5 kg (5000 grams) of meat ::
1
gram of sodium nitrite x 1,000,000/5000 grams of cured meat =
200 ppm of sodium
nitrirte
Another example
based on 5 kg of meat and 0.750 g of sodium nitrite
0.750 g
of sodium nitrite x 1,000,000/5000 g of cured meat =
150 ppm of sodium nitrite.
Both
results conform to the standards established by the FDA as they are below the maximum
permissible limit of 200 ppm
Note
: another way to look at the definition is to remember that 1 pound of
sodium
nitrite added to 5,000 pounds of meat will give us
200 ppm of sodium nitrite
To do
our own calculations we need to know that :
1 lb =
453.6 g
1 oz =
28.47 g
There
is almost no need for any calculations when using the metric system scale :
200
ppm corresponds to adding 200 mg (0.2 g) of sodium nitrite to 1 kg (1000 g) of
cured meat.
150 ppm
corresponds to adding 150 mg (0.150 g) of sodium nitrite to 1 kg of cured meat
1 kg =
1000 g
1g =
1000 mg (miligrams)
Above
calculations hold valid when using pure sodium nitrite
and that will not apply
to a home based sausage maker who has access to only pre-mixed cures like
Instacure 1. Fortunately we know that Instacure # 1 contains 6.25 % of
pure sodium nitrite. All we have to do is to measure on a metric scale (in
grams) amount
of Instacure 1 and multiply it by 0.0625. That will give us weight in grams of
sodium nitrite that is contained in Instacure 1 mix.
For
European cures like Peklosól the weight of cure has to be multiplied
by 0.006. For example by adding 30 g of Peklosól to 1 kg of
meat we are adding 30 x 0.006 = 0.18 g of pure
sodium nitrite. If we substitute
those numbers in our main formula above we will get 180 ppm of
nitrite.
0.18
(sodium nitrite) x 1,000,000 / 1,000 (1 kg of meat) = 180 ppm or 180
mg/kg
The Government
allows no more than 200 ppm of sodium nitrite to be added to the
meat and letłs see what we really have inside of the Instacure 1.
1
oz of Instacure #1 x 0.0625 = 28.47 g x 0.0625 = 1.77 g of
pure sodium nitrite
1 oz of
Instacure #1 contains 1.77 g of sodium nitrite and we know it cures 25 lbs of
meat
25 lbs
= 25 x 453.6 =11340 g
Going
back to our formula :
Ppm = 1.77g x
1,000,000 / 11340 g (25 lbs) =156
Now we
can sleep much better knowing that the amount of nitrite in Instacure
# 1 comes to
only 156 ppm.
The
maximum level of sodium nitrite is defined at 200 ppm but basically the figure
widely used in pre-mixed cures is 156 ppm (156 mg/kg) and that coresponds to one-quarter
ounce (7.1 g) of pure sodium nitrite per 100 pounds (45.4 kg) of meat.
Nitrate
though still permitted, is not commonly used by the industry except in
manufacture of long term air dried products.
Note
: in the USA and in Europe a permitted residual nitrite content in meats at
retail is 50 ppm
Note
: ready to eat cured meats at retail have a residual nitrite content of only
about 10 ppm.
Note
: 75 ppm or more of nitrite is needed (plus salt) to be effective in preventing
development of botulism
More information on curing can be found at:
Curing
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