French government asks meat producers to reduce nitrite content

A classic jambon-beurre sandwich. The ham is pink because of the nitrite additives, which producers use to kill bacteria, but which food safety groups say cause cancer. © Loic Venance/AFP

The French government has asked ham and deli meat producers to reduce their use of nitrites, without imposing an outright ban called for by anti-cancer advocates.

The government’s action plan aims for “immediate reductions of nitrite additives” in deli meats by about 20 percent, according to the Agriculture Ministry, which said benchmarks will be part of industry codes and will become the basis of state inspections of the 300 or so producers who make 1.2 million tones of products per year, according to industry group Inaporc.