12t—Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, May 27,1978
USDA nitrite decision defined
WASHINGTON, D.C. -
The U.S. Department of
Agriculture recently acted to
eliminate cancer-causing
nitrosamines from fried
baton and to reduce the total
level of nitrite in bacon.
Carol Tucker Foreman,
assistant secretary of
agriculture for food and
consumers services, said,
“Under the Meat Inspection
Act we are required to
prevent the sale of any
product containing a sub
stance that may be harmful
to health. We have known for
several years that there are
cancer-causing nitrosamin
es in Med bacon. We are
acting to eliminate them as
quickly as possible.
“The public has a right to
expect that federally in-
Craft festival set
BEL AIR, Md. - Step
pingstone Museum, a
Harford County institution
dedicated to the country’s
past, will hold its eighth
annual Old-Time Arts &
Crafts Festival on June 1,10
to 5 p.m., and on June 4, noon
to 5 p.m.
Fifty artisans and craft
smen will demonstrate
crafts of the eighteenth and
nineteenth century such as
spinning and weaving,
basketmaking, rug hooking,
broommaking, soap making,
chair caning, horn braking,
blacksmithing, painting
artistry of all kinds, various
types of needlework,
quilting, and scores of other
crafts to hmaze and delight
the twentieth century
visitors.
Members of the Step
pingstone Museum
Association will guide
visitors through the five
buildings, arranged as a
rural home and craftsmen’s
shops, which house 14,000
artifacts that comprise the
fine collection of tools, home
appliances, farm im
plements, dolls, toys and
other items of the past
century. Antique cars will
also be on display.
Entertainment during
Festival weekend will
feature musical groups,
square dancers and other
events. Food will be
available.
Steppingstone Museum, a
non-profit organization, is
spected meat is wholesome.
We want to assure that
bacon can be eaten safely.
Today’s actions are another
step toward that goal,” she
said.
Ms. Foreman announced
two separate actions to
reach these goals.
First, the Department
issued a proposed regulation
that will lower to 40 parts
per-million the level of
sodium nitrite allowed to be
used in curing bacon. The
sodim nitrite (or an
equivalent amount of
potassium nitrite) would be
used in combination with
0.26 per cent by weight of
potassium sorbate. The
proposed regulation is based
oq data which indicate that
this formula provides an
located on a hillside at the
comer of Rt. 136 and Macton
Road, three miles north of
Rt. 1, midway between
Dublin and Whiteford, Md. It
is also open on weekends,
Saturday and Sunday, 1 to 5
p.m., from May to mid-
October. Admission is
Adulst, $1; Children, 25
cents.
Lincoln school
reunion set
MOUNT JOY - All
students and their families
who ever attended Lincoln
School are invited to attend a
drop-in reunion on July 15
from 2 p.m. to sundown. The
get-together will be held on
toe lawn of the school
grounds by the
Manheim/Mount Joy Road
in Rapho Township.
Those attending are asked
to bring a lunch, lawn chairs,
and an old group photo. A
cool drink will be provided.
In case of inclement
weather, the reunion will
meet in the Erisman Church
basement located next door.
BE ALERT
equal or superior protection
against botulism than for
mulas presently in use, and
eliminates confirmable
levels of cancer-causing
nitrosamines.
The proposed regulation
would reduce by at least two
thirds the amount of nitrite
presently used by most meat
packers. The proposed rule
will become effective within
one year unless data are
provided to USDA to
demonstrate that these
reduced levels would not
prevent the formation of
confirmable levels of
nitrosamines and would not
prevent botulinal hazards.
Second, the Department
issued a final regulation,
effective June 15,1978, which
requires bacon to be made
using 120 ppm of sodium
nitrite (or the equivalent
amount of potassium nitrite)
plus 550 ppm sodium
ascorbate or sodium
erythorbate. Cooked bacon,
under this regulation, will be
permitted to contain only the
lowest level of nitrosamines
confirmable under present
commercial laboratory
capabilities - 10 parts-per
billion.
Ms. Foreman said the
actions announced were
developed after analyzing a
substantial volume of data
on bacon and the effects of
nitrite and nitrate in the
formation of nitrosamines.
This included the comments
received on a proposal
published in the November
11, 1975, Federal Register;
the study undertaken by the
Secretary’s Expert Panel on
Nitrites and Notrosamines,
and the data submitted in
March 1978 by the industry
in specific response to
USDA’s request last Oc
tober.
Over the past five years,
the industry has made
considerable progress in
reducing the level of
nitrosamines found in bacon,
Ms. Foreman said. At the
present time, however, there
are not enough private
laboratories' with the
equipment and expertise to
reliably test bacon for
nitrosamines below the level
of lOppb.
“The lowest level which
can be reliably detected and
confirmed is 5 ppb,” Ms.
Foreman said. “This,
however, can be done only in
a few government
laboratories which have
very sophisticated equip
ment. There are not enough
government laboratories
available to handle the
volume of testing that would
be required to test all bacon
production down to the level
of 5 ppb, however.”
Additionally, Ms.
Foreman said the data
submitted by the industry
demonstrated that it is
possible to cure bacon using
as little as 40 ppm of sodium
nitrite, in combination with
0.26 per cent potassium
sorbate without reducing
botulinal proection and
without confirmable levels
of nitrosamines when bacon
is fried. In this proposal,
USDA is" preliminarily ac
cepting the validity of these
data, but is asking all in
terested parties to submit
data which might disprove
their validity.
Interested persons will
have until November 16,
1978, to submit these data, in
duplicate, to the Hearing
Clerk, Room 1077, South
Building, U.S. Department
of Agriculture, Washington,
DC 20250.
With regard to the final
regulation concerning
nitrosamines, USDA’s Food
Safety and Quality Service
will begin collecting samples
from bacon processors for
inplant testing. If more than
10 ppb nitrosamines are
present, as confirmed by
mass spectrometry (a
system for measuring
minute quantities of sub
stances), ail bacon in the
plant - and all future
production until adjustments
are made - will be either
retained or diverted to other
products that are not cooked
at temperatures at which
nitrosamines are formed -
such as pork-and-beans or
bean-and-bacon soup.
'ln addition, the new
regulation requires that
' within the year - as
laboratory capabilities are
developed - the permitted
level of nitrosamines will be
lowered to 5 ppb. Lots which
exceed this level at that time
will have to be destroyed.
Full texts of both
documents will be published
in companion notices in the
May 16, 1978, Federal
Register. Copies of these
documents can be obtained
by writing to FSQS In
formation, U.S. Department
of Agriculture, Washington,
DC 20250.