Jerk Food Enablers Anonymous

My husband's favorite brand

To buy or not to buy?  This is a question that runs through my head all the time.  Beef Sticks and Beef Jerky are snacks my husband loves.  When I am heading out the door to the grocery store he'll occasionally ask me to pick him up his favorite brand from Marc's grocery store.  I often feel guilty buying them because like most processed meat they contain sodium nitrite as a preservative.  The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) research recommends that processed meat be avoided all together due to a potential cancer risk.  According to the AICR studies show that compared to eating no processed meat, consuming 3.5 oz of processed meat every day (24.5 oz/wk) increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 36%.  So this got me investigating.  Are there any beef sticks or jerky without sodium nitrite?  I didn't see any in three of the stores I checked out - Marc's, Heinen's or Giant Eagle - however I did a search on line and found a website devoted to beef jerky.  Check out this link for a review of many nitrite free beef jerky available to consumers.   http://www.bestbeefjerky.org/2008/06/sodium-nitrite-free-beef-jerky.html

I will be ordering some be jerky shortly - if my husband likes any - I can relieve some of my guilt! 

For more information on cancer and food check out www.aicr.org