Curing accelerators
Ascorbic acid
Parameters
- Chart entries
- 1
- Purposes
- To accelerate color fixing or preserve color during storage
- Curing agent
- yes
9 CFR 424.21, chart at paragraph (c). eCFR as in force on 2026-01-01, retrieved 2026-09-04.
Permitted uses and amounts
| Class | Purpose | Products | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Curing accelerators | To accelerate color fixing or preserve color during storage | Cured pork and beef cuts, cured poultry, cured comminuted poultry and meat food products | 75 oz to 100 gal pickle at 10 percent pump level; 3⁄4 oz to 100 lb meat, meat byproduct or poultry product; 10 percent solution to surfaces of cured meat cuts or poultry products prior to packaging. (The use of such solution shall not result in the addition of a significant amount of moisture to the product). |
What this means in parts per million
The chart states its curing-agent limits as a weight of salt against a weight of meat. Converted, using the exact definitions of the pound and the ounce:
| Product class | ppm | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| Chopped or comminuted meat, meat byproduct or poultry | 156.25 | 9 CFR 424.21(c), curing agents |
| Dry cure applied to whole muscle | 625.00 | 9 CFR 424.21(c), curing agents |
| Bacon, injected or massaged | 120.00 | 9 CFR 424.22(b)(1) |
| Bacon, immersion cured | 120.00 | 9 CFR 424.22(b)(2) |
| Bacon, made with dry curing materials | 200.00 | 9 CFR 424.22(b)(3) |
The arithmetic is set out on the ingoing nitrite calculator, along with the one chart figure this site declines to convert.
Buying it
The chart above is a regulatory permission: it says this substance may be used, for which purpose, in which products and up to what amount. It is not a recommendation to use it, and the amount in the chart is a ceiling rather than a dose. A retail form of this substance exists, and it is linked below so that the figure in the chart can be checked against what is actually in the packet.
Affiliate links
The listing below is an Amazon affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate this site earns from qualifying purchases: if you buy through one of these links Amazon pays a commission and you pay the same price you would have paid otherwise. Links and prices were resolved on 2026-09-04 by a build script and are not re-fetched when you load the page. Full terms on disclosures.
Listing
Raw Essentials Ascorbic Acid Powder (Vitamin C), 16 oz
- Lowest new, checked 2026-09-04
- $11.99
- Brand
- Raw Essentials
- ASIN
- B0DSLYLCKH
Affiliate link, tag carbs.com-20. Prices read from the Amazon Creators API on 2026-09-04 and not re-fetched since. Amazon prices move within a day; treat these as the figure on that date, not as a quote.
Source: Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR), Title 9, 9 CFR 424.21. Parsed from eCFR XML as in force on 2026-01-01, retrieved 2026-09-04. Read the section