Keep an eye on the vegetables !!!
The Health Concern
Smoking meat places nitrites into the meat, and this is basically the same process for preserving meat that is found in cured meats like ham. In fact, both ham and smoked meats have their telltale pinkish color because of the nitrate reacting with pigment cells called myoglobins in the meat. (Fritz)
In the 1970s, consumer groups began to question the safety of smoked meats and nitrite-cured meats. Scientists found that a chemical reaction between nitrite and certain components of proteins, called amines, can form chemicals that cause cancer in lab animals. These chemicals were called nitrosamines.
Another study in 1980 observed a small community in Hungary that regularly ate home-smoked meats, and this community had a higher rate of stomach cancers. (Fritz)
Problems With the 1970s Data
In 1998, a study was done by epidemiologists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Their conclusions contradict the hypothesis of the consumer groups and the study done in Hungary. (Wisconsin)
The study showed that there are no nitrosamines in smoked meats, and that the only possible way for an interaction to take place would be inside the stomach where amines might already exist.
The nitrite in the meat might interact with amines that were already in a person’s stomach, from other sources like medication. The interaction between the two would slightly increase the chances of getting cancer.
However, the nitrites in the meat are not significant enough to make any interaction likely. In fact, nitrites and nitrates are found in similar amounts in vegetables, too. (Wisconsin)
Michael Pariza, who was the director of the Food Research Institute and one of the scientists who issued the 1998 reports said, “someone eating a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich for lunch will show an increase in blood nitrite levels. Some of that is due to the bacon, however a larger amount is due to the lettuce and the tomato. Nevertheless, research has shown that the benefits of eating vegetables far outweigh the concerns about nitrites in the diet.” (Wisconsin)
Pariza and the scientist task force that undertook the study believe that there must be other factors that were not taken into account in the 1970s and 1980 study. Some of these factors would be how many vegetables the victims of cancer were consuming. Eating less vegetables has been shown to increase cancer.
Prior to this study, but for the same reasons, the American Cancer Society said in 1996 that "nitrites in food are not a significant cause of cancer in Americans."
