Nitrite
In 1992, Hanegal started producing organic cold cuts and the decision was made then that organic production was not enough – it also had to be completely free of additives. Then and now, some additives (“E numbers”) are allowed in organic production.
Even so, we do not use nitrites (E249 and E250) in our production. Nitrite is a preservative that is primarily used in the food industry to give cold cuts and sausages a red colour, and this is the reason our sausages have a brownish hue compared to many other sausages on the market.
In Denmark, there are strict rules governing the addition of nitrite. This is because nitrite forms nitrosamines, which are known to cause cancer.