Day 039 - 20 Oct 94 - Page 25


     
     1        A.  Yes, indeed.
     2
     3   Q.   At the level it is used, its primary role seems to be that
     4        rather than protective against botulism?
     5        A.  That is certainly the impression I had.  I have looked
     6        into this matter, and I have the impression that the
     7        minimum required to inhibit bacteria are rather lower than
     8        those being used.  Now, one argument that industry uses is,
     9        well, they want a margin of safety.  You get variability in
    10        the production process.  Botulism is an extremely nasty
    11        infection.  It can be fatal.  It is, therefore, important
    12        to be as sure as we can be that sufficient preservative is
    13        used to prevent that.
    14
    15        I suspect, however, that industry has taken advantage of
    16        the colouring properties in nitrates and using them at
    17        higher levels that are strictly necessary to inhibit the
    18        development of botulism, because it contributes to the pink
    19        quality of processed meat.  If you preserve pork in salt
    20        (sodium chloride) in a saline solution without Sodium
    21        Nitrite you get a relatively grey end product of pork.  But
    22        if you preserve it with nitrite you get a familiar pink
    23        colour.
    24
    25        But, as I have pointed out in my text, in the United
    26        States, but not in this country, it is possible to obtain
    27        nitrite free bacon.  I have myself bought it and enjoyed
    28        it.  It is distributed and sold frozen.  It does have only
    29         -- its colouring is slightly less pink than that to which
    30        we are accustomed but not unattractively coloured.
    31        Since  -----
    32
    33   Q.   Sorry, so the use of nitrites i.e. Sodium Nitrite and
    34        Potassium Nitrate in pork is not strictly necessary?
    35        A.  Well, it is not strictly necessary.  If what you trying
    36        to do is avoid the development of Clostridium botulinum and
    37        if you freeze it and maintain it at low temperatures ----.
    38
    39   Q.   Or use salt?
    40        A.  Yes, I would think that an organisation ----
    41
    42   Q.   I did not want to go into it in depth.
    43        A.  I think it is, perhaps, worth remarking that an
    44        organisation with the kinds of controls and distribution
    45        chains that McDonald's have, and the rapid throughput of
    46        materials, would, I expect, be in a position to use -- to
    47        have a reliable and safe frozen chain and could use
    48        nitrite-free bacon if they chose to; whereas one would not
    49        necessarily wish to be confident in recommending that to
    50        ordinary domestic consumption where people did not have 
    51        such reliable refrigeration and such tight controls on 
    52        their production process. 
    53
    54   Q.   Just to ask you a further question on Sodium Nitrite and
    55        Potassium Nitrate; you did mention a number of
    56        intolerances.
    57        A.  All I can say about that is that I am aware that
    58        organisations such as the Hyperactive Children Support
    59        Group have received and collected such reports.
    60

Prev Next Index