They help fight certain bacteria, but are suspected of being the cause of various cancers. The nitrites used for the production of deli meats are increasingly decried, to such an extent that the government has asked manufacturers to lower the doses of nitrites in deli meats and sausages, starting “in the next few weeks”.
An action plan was thus presented on Monday, March 27, to professionals. This provides, initially, within a month, “immediate reductions in nitrate additives” of around 20% for mass-consumption charcuterie products, in particular cooked hams, lardons, rillettes or dry sausages.
Then, within six to twelve months, the nitrite content of the “most consumed charcuterie products in France, in particular sausages, cooked sausages, pâtés, rillettes, andouilles and andouillettes” should have decreased by around 25%, and at least 30% for hams, according to a press release from the Ministries of Agriculture and Health.
The reduction will be greater for fresh sausages such as chipolatas: the nitrite content will have to drop by 30% by the end of April and these additives will have to be completely eliminated within a year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, which has been working for several months with the sector.
Finally, a research and innovation plan will be implemented this year to “move towards the elimination of the use of nitrites in most charcuterie products”, “within a five-year horizon”, but without abandon them completely.
At the forefront of the fight against these additives, the consumer defense association Foodwatch expressed its “disappointment” to Agence France-Presse (AFP): “We are asking that the State protect the health of consumers by taking decisions to ban and not just reduce,” said its director, Karine Jacquemart.
Historically, pork butchers have used nitrated components to extend the shelf life of products and to prevent the development of pathogenic bacteria that cause botulism in particular, a serious neurological condition that has been largely forgotten due to health progress. But the health agency Anses confirmed in July the link between cancer risk and exposure to nitrate additives, leading the government to announce an “action plan”. It was to be presented to Parliament in the fall of 2022.
According to the government, this plan “provides support for the sectors in modifying the manufacturing processes and the recipes necessary to respect the maximum target values”, without further details.