The product has received the support of Professor Chris Elliott, Institute for Global Food Security’s chair at Queen’s University Belfast, who said “ Many forms of processed foods have come under the spotlight over recent years for their unhealthy attributes. “Natpre T-10 CUR RME is a 100% natural product that can be labelled as natural flavour on clean labels.” “The bacon that was treated with Natpre T-10 CUR RME does not contain nitrite before cooking and, more importantly, does not contain carcinogenic nitrosamines after oven cooking. “It is possible to produce a baked bacon with a perfect quality and colour without the use of nitrite salts,” the research team concluded. The team estimated the content of nitrites and nitrates of the bacon sample containing Natpre T-10 CUR RME to be similar to those found in fresh meat, which normally contains low levels of nitrate and nitrite, estimated at less than (<) 4–7 milligrams per kilogram (mg/Kg) and < 0.4–0.5 mg/Kg respectively. Writing in the December issue of meat industry magazine Meating Point, the team compared bacon made using nitrite (150 parts per million (ppm)) with bacon produced using Natpre T-10 CUR RME, the firm’s proprietary blend of natural compounds. While the exact process and the ingredient product profile are closely guarded, Prosur’s CEO Juan de Dios Hernández, along with the firm’s research, development and innovation team, recently discussed the challenges of preventing nitrosamine formation in bacon. “Our Naked Bacon is not only safer than any other bacon on the market, it also tops the charts in blind taste tests.” Comparisons to fresh meat Bacon contains nitrites, nitrites produce nitrosamines in your gut and nitrosamines are carcinogenic. “For more than a decade I have insisted we not touch bacon until such time as we can make it better and safer – and now we have. “We are very excited to be the first to launch an own brand with a back and streaky bacon, and will be looking to follow this up with cooked hams in the very near future.”įinnebrogue’s chairman, Denis Lynn, commented that the breakthrough was ten years in the making. “We have worked closely with Finnebrogue throughout their innovation on nitrite-free bacon, to ensure our own brand recipe is a fantastic tasting bacon without compromise on flavour – as our customers would expect. “We know that our customers care about their health and are increasingly looking for healthier options for themselves and their families,” said Marks and Spencer’s product developer Kirsty Adams. The first packets of Naked Bacon will be available on 10 January of this year in branches of Marks and Spencer which will be packaging the product under its own brand. Marks and Spencer own brandĪs well as Naked Bacon, Finnebrogue will be bringing Naked Ham to market on 15 January 2018. Whilst the flavour is already used in continental style hams in the European Union, this will be the first time the technology has been applied to British bacon and available to UK consumers, following a €15.8m (£14m) initial investment from Finnebrogue. It led the WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) to announce back in 2015 that consumption of processed meat was “ carcinogenic to humans.”įinnebrogue, a sausage and venison supplier, worked with Spanish flavour specialists Prosur to develop a new way of flavouring traditional British bacon. The product is a response to comments made by the World Health Organisation (WHO) which stated that the nitrites found in various processed meats were as dangerous as asbestos and smoking.
Northern Irish artisan food manufacturer Finnebrogue claims the product, Naked bacon, will be the UK’s only bacon to be free from nitrites, preservatives, E numbers and allergens.
Chocolate and confectionery ingredients.Carbohydrates and fibres (sugar, starches).