Wikipedia
Meat processing[edit]
Potassium nitrate has been a common ingredient of salted meat since
antiquity[38] or the
Middle Ages.
[39] The widespread adoption of nitrate use is more recent and is linked to the development of large-scale meat processing.
[6] The use of potassium nitrate has been mostly discontinued because it gives slow and inconsistent results compared to
sodium nitrite preparations such as "Prague powder" or pink "
curing salt". Even so, potassium nitrate is still used in some food applications, such as salami, dry-cured ham,
charcuterie, and (in some countries) in the
brine used to make
corned beef (sometimes together with sodium nitrite).
[40] When used as a food additive in the European Union,
[41] the compound is referred to as
E252; it is also approved for use as a food additive in the United States
[42] and Australia and New Zealand
[43] (where it is listed under its
INS number 252).
[2]
Possible cancer risk[edit]
Since October 2015,
WHO classifies processed meat as Group 1 carcinogen (based on epidemiological studies, convincingly
carcinogenic to humans).
[44]
In April 2023 the French Court of Appeals of Limoges confirmed that food-watch NGO Yuka was legally legitimate in describing Potassium Nitrate
E249 to E252 as a "cancer risk", and thus rejected an appeal by the French
charcuterie industry against the organisation.
[45]
Food preparation[edit]
In West African cuisine, potassium nitrate (saltpetre) is widely used as a thickening agent in soups and stews such as
okra soup[46] and
isi ewu. It is also used to soften food and reduce cooking time when boiling
beans and tough meat. Saltpetre is also an essential ingredient in making special porridges, such as
kunun kanwa[47] literally translated from the
Hausa language as "saltpetre porridge".
In the Shetland Islands (UK) it is used in the curing of mutton to make
reestit mutton, a local delicacy.
[48]