Eating Meat Without Preservatives

People have preserved meat naturally for thousands of years, but in modern times chemical and synthetic preservatives are often used. Recent studies raise concerns about the safety of these preservatives. The March 1994 edition of the journal, Cancer Causes and Control, published the results of a study that found a significant association between children who ate 12 or more hot dogs a month and the rate of leukemia. Another study published in the same issue showed that pregnant women who ate hot dogs one or more times a week during pregnancy had twice the risk of brain cancer. With the potential health risks surrounding chemical preservatives, some people find it prudent to eat preservative-free meat.

Things You'll Need

• Access to a grocery store stocking natural foods
• Organic beef (preferably grass-fed)
• Organic poultry and pork
• Nitrate and nitrite free hot dogs, deli meat and sausage

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Instructions

Smart Purchasing

• 1

  Shop at a natural foods store and select meats and poultry with the natural or organic labeling. Natural denotes that a meat product has no artificial coloring, chemical preservatives, or ingredients. Organic meat products adhere to even higher standards, with animals being fed only organic feed and having access to the outdoors. If no stores in your area carry these products, many farms offer their natural and organic products online. Distributors pack items in dry ice and ensure that the meat will be fresh when it arrives.

• 2

  Read the ingredient labels. Avoid products with sodium nitrate, sodium nitrite, BHT, BHA and phosphates.

• 3

  Pay particular attention to your consumption of processed meats. Ham, hot dogs and sausage product ingredient lists must be checked carefully for chemical preservatives. Because they lack chemicals, preservative-free meats may be less pink--but they taste the same and are perfectly safe.

• 4

  Prepare meats at home. Avoid chain restaurants. Almost all use preservative-laden meat because it is cheaper and lasts longer.

• 5

  Pack your own and your children's lunches. School lunches and office cafeterias will most likely use deli meats full of nitrates and nitrites. Beware of packaged lunch snacks: These are also full of preservatives.