Imagine your favorite cured meat like beef jerky, pepperoni or bacon without any added sodium nitrite from any source currently necessary for color and shelf life. Wes Osburn, associate professor in meat science in the Texas A&M Animal Science department, is doing exactly that. Osburn has been researching the idea of a novel amino acid alternative curing system for meat for many years. While curing meat with synthetic sodium nitrite is safe and efficient, the process has long been associated with cancer concerns. Continue reading at tx.ag/CuringMeats. -- #meatscience #jerky #foodscience