- Type
- Curing agent
- How serious
- Moderate severity
- Evidence
- Moderate evidence
Why it is flagged
Ingested nitrate competes with iodide for uptake by the thyroid, and Health Canada's drinking water guideline names thyroid function as an end-point of concern beside the methaemoglobinaemia that infants under six months are most susceptible to; it also records studies associating nitrate above 45 mg/L with birth defects, with limitations that preclude a conclusion. Converted to nitrite, it can form nitrosamines, which IARC weighs as probably carcinogenic under conditions of endogenous nitrosation.
Health topics it bears on
Sources
- 11. List of Permitted Preservatives (Lists of Permitted Food Additives) Health Canada, 2025
- Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality: Guideline Technical Document – Nitrate and Nitrite Health Canada, 2013
- Re-evaluation of sodium nitrate (E 251) and potassium nitrate (E 252) as food additives European Food Safety Authority, 2017
- IARC Monographs Volume 94: Ingested Nitrate and Nitrite, and Cyanobacterial Peptide Toxins International Agency for Research on Cancer, 2010
Also listed as
potassium nitrate, e251, e252, nitrate, nitrates, saltpetre, saltpeter, chile saltpetre, nitrate de sodium, nitrate de potassium, salpêtre, nitrato de sodio, nitrato de potasio, nitrato di sodio, nitrato di potassio, natriumnitrat, kaliumnitrat, salpeter