meat, curing

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meat, curing Pickling with the aid of sodium chloride (salt), sodium nitrate (saltpetre), and some sodium nitrite, which permits the growth of only salt‐tolerant bacteria and inhibits the growth of Clostridium botulinum. The nitrite is the effective preserving agent and the nitrate is converted into nitrite during the process. The red colour of cured meat is due to the formation of nitrosomyoglobin from the myoglobin of muscle.

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