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According to CFR - Code of Federal Regulations Title 21 (U.S.) April 1st 2013 you can't have more than 200ppm of sodium nitrite and 500 ppm of sodium nitrate in a finished meat product.
For example, if I was curing bacon (skin off) how would I able able to find out if I am under or over the permitted amount of the finished product?
Also how would I be able to calculate the amount of nitrate needed to cure the product and be below the permitted amount of finished product if my nitrate is at 7% of cure #1?

senorkevin wrote:According to CFR - Code of Federal Regulations Title 21 (U.S.) April 1st 2013 you can't have more than 200ppm of sodium nitrite and 500 ppm of sodium nitrate in a finished meat product.
For example, if I was curing bacon (skin off) how would I able able to find out if I am under or over the permitted amount of the finished product?
Also how would I be able to calculate the amount of nitrate needed to cure the product and be below the permitted amount of finished product if my nitrate is at 7% of cure #1?

In reality, you'd not want either of those levels in a finished product nowadays.

It's late for me here in the UK, but the USDA methods for calculating cures are posted on the forum as a sticky somewhere; just search for USDA Inspectors' Handbook - it's all in there. If you really want to calculate them yourself as this stage?

Maybe, just maybe, you'd be best to use one of the recipes here until you're 'up to speed' on these things.

Don't pre-empt what you can get, just let us know when you've got it and someone will advise.

HTH

Phil

I use your calculator for curing as the nitrate level is at 7%, which may I might add is damn good!
I just thought it would be interesting to find out why I need the amounts needed and how to calculate the the ppm in the finished product is.

Thanks for the comments about the calculator.

The method of calculating various cures is here:

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/FSI ... 7620-3.pdf

It's a bit of a minefield for the unwary in that some of the % calculations are counter-intuitive; there's a lot of discussion about the calculations on here.

As to why those levels are what they are, that's another matter. A good starting point would be the scientific advice that the current EU regulations are based on:

http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/doc/14.pdf

HTH

Phil

Ok thanks I will take a read