Why is our Uncured Hardwood Smoked Pork Bacon and Turkey Bacon described as “uncured?
USDA’s definition of “cured” meats are those to which synthetic nitrates and nitrites have been added in the form of sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate. When those synthetic nitrates and nitrites are not used, the meat must be labeled “uncured.” Organic Prairie Uncured Hardwood Smoked Turkey Bacon and Pork Bacon are “cured,” but with a process that uses the nitrates naturally present in celery juice powder, a lactic acid starter culture, and sea salt. During the old-fashioned process of wood-smoking, the naturally occurring nitrates in the celery juice are converted to nitrites through a lactic acid fermentation process. Nitrites, naturally occurring or synthetic, serve a vital public health function of blocking the growth of dangerous bacteria in processed meats, and give “cured” meats their characteristic color and flavor.
