Use
Nitrite is the salt of nitrous acid. It is used in meat curing to develop and stabilize the pink color associated with a cured meat and to affect flavor and function as an antioxidant. S convert to nitric oxide, which reacts with the myoglobin pigments (purple-red) to form nitrosomyoglobin (dark red). Nitrosomyoglobin plus heating to 130–140°f results in the formation of the stable pigment nitrosohemochrome, resulting in the cured meat color. It has bacteriostatic properties as an inhibitor of clostridia organisms, especially clostridium botulinum, and, therefore, nonsterile canned hams can be produced. Sources are sodium and potassium nitrite, with the sodium form being more commonly used.