My conception of the commonality of the knowledge of the difference between -ate and -ite in chemistry must be warped by taking high level classes at a young age, because this article directly states that it is talking about Nitrite and not nitrates.

Nitrates are not nitrites. Nitrates have additional bonds with Oxygen and are therefore more stable than Nitrites.

This article is explicitly about nitrites being a clear risk of cancer and only contains a single reference to the world nitrates. The article you listed equates the two substances, but that's not the way the chemistry works here.

As the prime example of how different -ites and -ates are: Carbonate is CO3(2-) which is a constituent part of calcium carbonate or Sodium bicarbonate and carbonite is a cloud backup service because chemically, one less bonded oxygen is CO2, carbon dioxide, and that's how it works with carbon because of bonds valence bonds form between electrons, you'll have to forgive me if I'm fuzzy on the finer details, it's been a decade.

Sodium nitrate breaks down into sodium nitrite in cured meat products, so it's the same thing by the time it reaches your bowel.

Well that is horrifying, I am glad I have always made my bresaola nitrate free then.

The fuzziness here is because nitrates and nitrites are both used for meat curing, and the way the nitrate works is by being turned into the nitrite by bacterial action during the cure. Any nitrate that remains in the end product may then be turned into nitrite by gut bacteria. So from a food safety perspective they are really interchangeable. Current regulations in the US allow products made with organic nitrates to be labelled as "uncured" even though the end product would contain nitrites.

not just allowed, required.

https://nationalaglawcenter.org/to-cure-or-note-to-cure-grou...

> In the 1990s, manufacturers began developing new ways to cure meats with celery or other natural nitrate/nitrite sources. Federal labeling rules require meats processed in this manner to include the terms “Uncured” and the statement “No Nitrate or Nitrite Added” because they do not use synthetic curing agents.

it changed in late 2021 though although i’m not clear by how much

Do you have any further information on whether the USDA still intends to do something about this?

The article is about nitrites not nitrates.

You need to be concerned with both [0].

In short, nitrites and nitrous oxide do the preservative work. Nitrates convert into nitrites and later nitrous oxide over time. But nitrites can also convert into nitrosamine, which is the danger chemical.

[0]: https://www.americastestkitchen.com/cooksillustrated/article...

AFAIK one gets converted into the other by bacteria and both could react to the strongly acidic environment in the stomach and form nitrosamines which is how we think ingesting them increases chances of cancer.

Distinction without a difference. Nitrates breakdown to nitrites with the help of bacteria native in meat itself

Similar chemicals can have vastly different biological characteristics, like if one can bind to a certain nueroteceptor (or pass the blood-brain barrier in the first place) or not.

Chloride is a basic chemical used by the body. Take away an ion and make it chlorine, and it is fatal in very small quantities.

> "in the US labeled “nitrate free” or “uncured” still contains just as much nitrates as the unlabeled stuff"

But not in the EU, where products labelled nitrate-free are NOT permitted to contain nitrate analogs such as celery extract.

There are some true nitrate-free bacon products sold in the UK, such as Finnebrogue. They list the only ingredients as "Pork (87%), Water, Salt, Natural Flavouring, Antioxidant: Ascorbic Acid". Not as pink as nitrate-cured bacon once cooked, but tastes pretty great!

Most food sold in the US would not be legal to sell in the EU. Major sticking point in every free trade negotiation.

> Nitrates are required of US manufacturers BY THE FDA for food safety

Are you sure? I looked through the "uncured" bacons at a local grocery store online and while most of them have nitrates from celery powder, one of them is just "pork, sea salt, cane sugar".

Per the US Constitution, FDA regulates interstate commerce so if the meat never crosses a state line it is possible