Korean researchers have
found that plasma-treated water could be an effective replacement for nitrates
for curing ham, bacon and other meats.
If so it would remove a risk
of cancer from the food industry.
Nitrates have long been
considered risky because they can convert to nitrosamines when they mingle with
saliva, and nitrosamines are known to cause cancer.
But nitrates remain as an
agent in brine for curing ham, bacon and similar meats because they are effective
in controlling dangerous food-poisoning bacteria.
When compared with chemical brining, plasma-treated
water improved redness, maintained low residual nitrite content and total
bacterial counts, and no genotoxicity was found in the final product, the
Korean research team reports.
The research paper is available online in the journal
Plasma Processes and Polymers.
