Curious Cook: Food pressure

High-pressure processing preserves the taste, texture, appearance and nutritional value of foods and is used in producing juices, soups, baby food, packaged meals and many other foods. —PIXABAY/Pexels

Since the WHO classification of processed meats as Group 1 carcinogens in 2015, many people became more wary of eating meats containing preservatives such as nitrites and nitrates. And the food industry has responded to these concerns.

Many common packaged foods in the supermarkets here in France are now promoted as containing no preservatives. Even two years ago, I started to notice packets of ham and bacon were labelled as free of sodium nitrite (a known carcinogen), and many meats contained no chemicals for conservation at all. Now many more foods are also promoted as being free from artificial preservation compounds, such as specialty sausages, fish delicacies and chicken slices, even though the packaging indicates Use By/Expiry Dates similar to products containing nitrites and other artificial preservatives.