Curing accelerators
Sodium ascorbate
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 | 87.5 oz to 100 gal pickle at 10 percent pump level; 7⁄8 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.
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