WEBVTT - What is sodium nitrate?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from how Stuffworks dot com where

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<v Speaker 1>smart Happens. Hi Am Marshall Brain with today's question, what

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<v Speaker 1>is sodium nitrate? It seems like lots of meats contain it?

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<v Speaker 1>Is it in any way harmful? Sodium nitrate and it's

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<v Speaker 1>close relative, sodium nitrite, are preservatives that you find in

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<v Speaker 1>lots of processed meats. Stuff like salami, hot dogs, pepperoni, bologni, ham, bacon,

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<v Speaker 1>and spam all contained. Sodium nitrate is one of the ingredients.

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<v Speaker 1>Fresh meats don't contain any added chemicals, So the question

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<v Speaker 1>is why is sodium nitrate added to all these processed meats.

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<v Speaker 1>There are two reasons for adding these chemicals. First, they

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<v Speaker 1>preserve the color of the meat, meaning that it looks

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<v Speaker 1>pink like spam rather than gray like a cooked hamber. Here,

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<v Speaker 1>you've probably noticed that nearly all meats that contain sodium

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<v Speaker 1>nitrate or sodium nitrite remain pink or red even though

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<v Speaker 1>they're cooked during processing. These chemicals also inhibit botulism to

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<v Speaker 1>some degree. The jury is out on how harmful these

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<v Speaker 1>substances are. Sodium nitrite reacts with stomach acid and other

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<v Speaker 1>chemicals in the stomach to produce nitrosamines, which have been

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<v Speaker 1>shown to cause cancer and animals when consumed in large quantities. However,

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<v Speaker 1>there's not much sodium nitrate in meats, and we consume

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<v Speaker 1>sodium nitrate from other foods as well, so it's not

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<v Speaker 1>clear that they're harmful in the quantities we get from meat.

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<v Speaker 1>Some people recommend that small children and pregnant women avoid

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<v Speaker 1>these chemicals altogether just to be safe. Since neither canned

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<v Speaker 1>chicken nor tuna have any redness to preserve, they generally

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<v Speaker 1>do not contain these nitrates and of other topics. Because

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