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Some chemicals could save your life
Benzoic acid prevents food from going moldy. Sodium nitrite keeps certain dangerous bacteria away.
Stuffing food with chemicals sounds bad, and that is why the protective ones are easy to overlook. A preservative can be the thing standing between a meal and food poisoning.
How does sodium nitrite stop dangerous bacteria?
Sodium nitrite inhibits the growth of Clostridium botulinum, the bacterium that produces the botulism toxin, in cured meats. Curing with salt and nitrite became common long before refrigeration was widespread. Nitrite also reacts with the pigment in meat to give cured products their pink color. In the United States, the USDA limits how much nitrite can go into cured meat products.
Why does benzoic acid keep mold away?
Benzoic acid works best in acidic foods like pickles, soft drinks, and fruit juices. In its undissociated form it slips through the cell wall of yeasts and molds, then releases acid inside and lowers the cell's internal pH. That disrupts the microbe's metabolism and slows its growth. Benzoic acid also occurs naturally in foods such as cranberries.
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