Curing accelerators
Citric acid or sodium citrate
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 comminuted meat food product, cured comminuted poultry or poultry products | May be used in cured meat products or in 10 percent solution used to spray surfaces of cured meat cuts prior to packaging to replace up to 50 percent of the ascorbic acid, erythorbic acid, sodium ascorbate, or sodium erythorbate that is used. May be used in cured poultry products to replace 50 percent of the ascorbic acid or sodium ascorbate that is used. |
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.
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