Helpful Tips For You

After purchasing your meat, it is very important how it is handled & transported to your home. Making sure that you have a cooling bag or cooler with ice packs while transporting in your vehicle. Especially on those hot summer days, as improper handling can impact your health when consuming your meats.

One of the biggest mistakes people make is when thawing their frozen foods, especially meat. Bacteria develop and grow best at temperatures above 8°C. This is why the meat should not be left on the counter to thaw. It is best practice to put it in the fridge the night before and maintain a temperature of no more than 5°C. Once you thaw food, it is best to consume it within 24 hours.

For centuries Sodium Nitrite has been added to cured, air dried and smoked sausages. This is done to PREVENT BACTERIA GROWTH during the smoking, drying and aging process.

We at Messinger Meats adhere to follow proper curing procedures.  We only use the minimal amount of Sodium Nitrite required to stabilize the product.

With the right amount of Sodium Nitrite, the appropriate amount of preparation time, and the right smoking temperature, the Nitrite dissipates from the product to the point where testing confirms extremely minimal residual Nitrite levels.

Vegetables such as:
BEETS-SPINACH-LETTUCE-RADISH-CELLERY
These too, do in fact, contain high amounts of Sodium Nitrite.

Celery Powder is used in conjunction with Sea Salt to cure Sausages or Bacon etc. By using this combination Sodium Nitrite will not show up... but will contain the same or even a higher amount of residual Nitrite.

Consumers are often lead to believe that the product is Nitrite FREE because it is not displayed on the label.  Examples of this are Organic Products at Farmers Markets or ALL Natural labeled products in the grocery aisle.

As a consumer, we understand, that it is very important to do your homework and educate oneself properly.  This includes reading labels correctly – this is essential in making right choices – when bringing groceries home to our families.  As always in life, MODERATION is important.