Meat+Poultry - March 2021 - bacon - 10

ME AT PE R SP ECTIVES

Enduring appeal
Consumers' appetite for bacon
keeps sizzling as processors
scramble to keep up with demand
By Kerri Gehring and Jeff Savell
m e a t po u l t r y@ sosland.com

NITRITES AND NITROSOMINES
In the late 1970s, news headlines began focusing on what was in consumers' foods and how

Bacon's
future looks
bright, and
it is one
product that
has been
made even
stronger by
facing its
challenges.

ingredients could be harmful to their health. One
of the first major stories centered on the use of
nitrites in cured meats and raised the concern that
these could be cancer-causing agents. Bacon was
hit with an even greater challenge in that it could
be a source of nitrosomines. Conditions for nitrosomines to form when residual nitrites bound with
amines from the proteins were enhanced during
frying of the bacon. This was the perfect storm
for bacon, but regulatory, academic and industry leaders quickly worked together to see how
to minimize possible nitrosomine formation. The
first step was to reduce the ingoing level of sodium
nitrite that could be used to cure regular bacon to
120 ppm. The second step was to include 550 ppm
of cure accelerators, such as sodium erythorbate
and sodium ascorbate, to help drive the curing
reaction so that sodium nitrite would be eventually converted to nitric oxide, the compound that
binds with the myoglobin in the meat and, when
heated, forms nitrosyl hemochromogen, the cured
pink color. By reducing the ingoing amount of
sodium nitrite and using cure accelerators, there
were little to no residual nitrites remaining, which
eliminated nitrosomine formation. With the efforts
of many and changes in the curing process, bacon
survived this major health concern.
Recently, the availability of " uncured " bacon
seems to be a growing category joining frankfurters, bologna, hams and other processed products that feature " no added nitrates/nitrites " as

krasyuk - stock.adobe.com

he mere mention of bacon usually
results in a visceral response. Some
people think of the wonderful smell
of it cooking, and others think of how
great it tastes. While consumers may
disagree on whether bacon should be
served very crispy, fairly limp or somewhere in between, there seems to be a general love
affair for bacon that knows no end. Bacon started
as a mainstay of breakfast, however, its use has
exploded to include all dayparts.
Bacon's use beyond breakfast was fueled by
something as simple as quick-service restaurants
adding it to their burgers. Viewing the menus of
the top five burger restaurants reveals tempting items such as McDonald's Quarter Pounder
with Cheese Bacon, Burger King's Bacon King and
Stacker King, Wendy's Baconator and Son of
Baconator, Sonic Drive-In's Super Sonic Bacon
Double Cheeseburger, and Jack in the Box's Bacon
Ultimate Cheeseburger. These are a few examples
of bacon taking the hamburger to new heights.
Our view of bacon in the 21st Century as a
product that is celebrated, enjoyed and sought
after by many consumers fails to recognize the
dark times it faced in the 1970s and 1980s when
some viewed it as a threat to long-term health.

2021 BACON TRENDS + TECHNOLOGY MEAT+ POULTRY

Bacon_MP_0321.indb 10

3/2/2021 1:40:59 PM

Meat+Poultry - March 2021

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