Skip to content

E251Preservative

Sodium nitrate

What the research shows

Not enough

published research on this page yet

A preservative used in cured meats and poultry.

It helps preserve cured meats and poultry and fixes their colour.

Written from Open Food Facts and English Wikipedia¹²

Vegan
Vegetarian
EU permitted

Regulatory status

Checked Sep 2026

United States Permitted FDA 21 CFR 172.170
European Union Permitted EUR-Lex Reg. (EC) 1333/2008
United Kingdom Permitted FSA retained EU law
Canada Permitted Health Canada · Preservatives

Status reflects the named register on the date checked. It is not a safety rating.

Products

The 6 most-scanned of 1,077 products on Open Food Facts that list sodium nitrate.

Charlie Bingham Lasagne Charlie Bigham's · 690 g 4 additives
Chicken, Leek & Smoked Bacon Pie Mark & Spencer · 500 g 4 additives
Tortilla Rolls Crispy Cheese Lidl · 125 g 4 additives
Lasagne for 1 Charlie Bigham's · 335 g 4 additives
Slim Jim Original Conagra Brands · 8 g 3 additives
Stonebaked Pepperoni Hand Stretched Pizza Sainsbury's 3 additives

References

1Sodium nitrate: ingredient taxonomy entry. Open Food Facts.
2Sodium nitrate. Wikipedia. Accessed September 25, 2026.