I have just purchased a pack of bacon cure from Franco and when looking at the instructions I note that you have to leave the product which in this case is a loin of pork for 1 day per half inch of meat and then a further 2 days. The loin is 2" thick all bar the shouting so the cure time is a total of 6 days (7 with drying) before I can get it in the pan, so to speak. I would not normally keep pork for anywhere near that long, even in the fridge. So does the cure act as a preservative?
Cheers WW