46 THE CHINA STUDYSo, in 1970, when an article in the prestigious journal Nature con-
cluded that nitrites help to form nitrosamines in the body, thereby im-
plying that they help to cause cancer, people became alarmed. Here was
the official line: "Reduction of human exposure to nitrites and certain
secondary amines, particular1y in foods, may result in a decrease in
the incidence of human cancer."7 Suddenly nitrites became a potential
killer. Because we humans get exposed to nitrites through consump-
tion of processed meat such as hot dogs and bacon, some products
came under fire. Hot dogs were an easy target. Besides containing addi-
tives like nitrites, hot dogs can be made out of ground-up lips, snouts,
spleens, tongues, throats and other "variety meats."13 So as the nitrite!
nitrosamine issue heated up, hot dogs weren't looking so hot. Ralph
Nader had called hot dogs "among America's deadliest missiles." 14 Some
consumer advocacy groups were calling for a nitrite additive ban, and
government officials began a serious review of nitrite's potential health
problems.^3
The issue jolted forward again in 1978, when a study at the Massa-
chusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) found that nitrite increased lym-
phatic cancer in rats. The study, as reported in a 1979 issue of Science, 15
found that, on average, rats fed nitrite got lymphatic cancer 10.2% of
the time, while animals not fed nitrite got cancer only 5.4% of the time.
This finding was enough to create a public uproar. Fierce debate ensued
in the government, industry and research communities. When the dust
settled, expert panels made recommendations, industry cut back on ni-
trite usage and the issue fell out of the spotlight.
To summarize the story: marginal scientific results can make very big
waves in the public when it comes to cancer-causing chemicals. A rise
in cancer incidence from 5% to 10% in rats fed large quantities of nitrite
caused an explosive controversy. Undoubtedly millions of dollars were
spent follOwing the MIT study to investigate and discuss the findings.
And NSAR, a nitrosamine possibly formed from nitrite, was "reasonably
anticipated to be a human carcinogen" after several animal experiments
where exceptionally high levels of chemical were fed to animals for al-
most half their lifespan.BACK TO PROTEIN
The point isn't that nitrite is safe. It is the mere possibility, however un-
likely it may be, that it could cause cancer that alarms the public. But
what if researchers produced conSiderably more impressive scientific