Sodium nitrite

Additive · E250

Sodium nitrite is a salt used in cured meat and some fish. It helps stop harmful germs, keeps the pink color, and adds cured flavor. Its food label code is E 250; it differs from sodium nitrate and table salt.

Also known as

nitrous acid, sodium salt · NaNO2 · E250 · E 250 · INS 250

Why PRūF tracks it

Nitrite can impair oxygen transport at excessive doses and contribute to cancer-causing compounds under some conditions, while new diabetes and hypertension associations do not establish that ordinary food use causes disease.

Read the research

Sodium nitrite helps control dangerous bacteria in cured foods, but its use requires limits. Excess exposure can change hemoglobin into a form that carries less oxygen. EFSA set an acceptable daily intake of 0.07 milligrams of nitrite ion per kilogram of body weight, generally above estimated exposure from additives alone, with slight exceedance among children at high intake. This value is not a threshold at which illness suddenly begins.

Nitrite can also help form some cancer-causing N-nitroso compounds during processing or digestion, depending on the food and conditions. IARC’s probable-carcinogen assessment applies to ingestion under conditions that cause this reaction. It does not mean every serving causes cancer. In 2026, French studies linked estimated sodium-nitrite intake with diabetes and hypertension, while cancer findings were less consistent.

These studies share one cohort and cannot prove causation. A UK review found no clear significant population risk within permitted uses, and other studies include null findings. The review considers the combination of biological mechanisms and meaningful but uncertain human signals. Food uses remain permitted under specific limits; concentrated-product sales restrictions do not amount to a general food ban.

Research reviewed on September 5, 2026 · 12 sources