gunpowder, carcinogens, and bbq pork

[firecat]

My dad found a recipe for bbq pork that called for saltpeter as a curing agent. He had adventures trying to find the ingredient, and then he found warnings on the Internet that using it for food created carcinogens.

http://donpjones.wordpress.com/2010/03/28/post-15-lorraines-pork-roast/

Comments

[trixtah]

Yep, eeeevil nitrates. Of course, I think the majority of preserved goods commercially available use various nitrates for curing.

I wish that studies were more precise about food risks. My view on nitrates is that if you are averagely healthy, then some in your diet is unlikely to kill you. A lot of the studies are based on giving mice amazingly high quantities that don't actually represent the typical amounts we consume. I mean, consume 14g of caffeine, and it will kill you. But not that many people will drink 100 cups of coffee in the space of 4 hours.

More than 400mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood will kill you as well, which is useful information. But for 10% of the population, drinking 3 drinks a day will give you cirrhosis of the liver in about a decade. That's potentially even more useful information.