Does celery have more nitrate than bacon?
The claim: Celery has more nitrate than bacon, so why worry about bacon?
Last checked 16 October 2026
On nitrate, yes, by a wide margin: in one US survey, celery carried far more nitrate than bacon or any other cured meat. But the main worry about bacon isn't its nitrate. It's processed meat's link to bowel cancer, and the nitrite used to cure it, which can form nitrosamines.
The comparison isn't the whole story either way. Some of the nitrate you eat from vegetables turns to nitrite in your mouth, and Europe's food safety authority found that eating nitrate from all sources takes people over its daily limit. The table below shows the survey's figures side by side.
One survey, both sides of the plate
A Texas A&M survey bought cured meats and fresh vegetables from US shops and measured nitrate and nitrite in both:
Weighted means for NO2/NO3 across all cured meat categories were 4.54 and 37.07 ppm, respectively.
Nitrate levels of conventional broccoli, cabbage, celery, lettuce and spinach were 394.38, 417.56, 1,495.48, 850.46 and 2,797.18 ppm, respectively, while their organic counterparts averaged 204.29, 551.97, 911.94, 844.06 and 1,317.73 ppm.
The nitrite content of both conventional and organic vegetables ranged between 0.11-1.20 ppm with the exception of conventionally grown spinach which contained 7.98 ppm nitrite (Table 10).
NO2 is nitrite and NO3 is nitrate; ppm (parts per million) is the same as milligrams per kilogram. The survey was funded by the pork industry's National Pork Board. Beetroot wasn't in it.
Side by side
The survey's own figures. The full report names the products in each meat category; bacon is in the brine-cured, uncooked group.
| Food | Nitrate (ppm) | Nitrite (ppm) |
|---|---|---|
| Fresh vegetables, conventional (organic in brackets) | ||
| Spinach | 2,797.18 (organic 1,317.73) | 7.98 |
| Celery | 1,495.48 (organic 911.94) | 0.11–1.201 |
| Lettuce | 850.46 (organic 844.06) | 0.11–1.201 |
| Cabbage | 417.56 (organic 551.97) | 0.11–1.201 |
| Broccoli | 394.38 (organic 204.29) | 0.11–1.201 |
| Cured meats, by type | ||
| All cured meats (the survey's weighted mean) | 37.07 | 4.54 |
| Cured dried sausage, uncooked (e.g. chorizo) | 78.81 | 0.74 |
| Whole-muscle dry-cured (dry-cure ham and bacon, prosciutto) | 67.43 | 1.95 |
| Fermented sausage, cooked (pepperoni, summer sausage) | 35.66 | 0.64 |
| Cured sausage, cooked (bologna, frankfurters) | 27.68 | 6.86 |
| Whole-muscle brine-cured, uncooked: bacon | 25.57 | 7.31 |
| Whole-muscle brine-cured, cooked (ham, precooked bacon, pastrami) | 14.81 | 7.16 |
- The report gives one range for all the other vegetables.
Fresh spinach carried about as much nitrite as bacon; the other vegetables carried less.
Why the worry about bacon is about something else
The main reason people worry about bacon is processed meat's link to bowel cancer. The World Health Organization's cancer agency, IARC, classed processed meat as a cause of it:
In the case of processed meat, this classification is based on sufficient evidence from epidemiological studies that eating processed meat causes colorectal cancer.
The IARC classifications describe the strength of the scientific evidence about an agent being a cause of cancer, rather than assessing the level of risk.
For instance, carcinogenic chemicals that form during meat processing include N-nitroso compounds and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
Some of these chemicals are known or suspected carcinogens, but despite this knowledge it is not yet fully understood how cancer risk is increased by red meat or processed meat.
Colorectal cancer is bowel cancer. Nitrosamines are a family of N-nitroso compounds. Europe's food safety authority, EFSA, assessed those found in food in 2023:
‘Meat and meat products’ is the main food category contributing to TCNA exposure.
The CONTAM Panel concluded that the MOE for TCNAs at the P95 exposure is highly likely (98–100% certain) to be less than 10,000 for all age groups, which raises a health concern.
TCNAs are the cancer-causing nitrosamines EFSA assessed. A margin of exposure (MOE) compares the dose that harmed lab animals with what people take in; EFSA says a margin below that level, for the most exposed people, raises a health concern.
What EFSA found about added nitrite and nitrate
EFSA's 2017 reviews looked at nitrite and nitrate added to food. On nitrite and nitrosamines:
Based on the results of a systematic review, it was not possible to clearly discern nitrosamines produced from the nitrite added at the authorised levels, from those found in the food matrix without addition of external nitrite.
On nitrate, added nitrate is a small part of what people eat, but all sources together take people over EFSA's acceptable daily intake (ADI), and some of it turns to nitrite in the mouth:
The exposure to nitrate solely from its use as a food additive was estimated to be less than 5% of the overall exposure to nitrate in food based on a refined estimated exposure scenario.
However, if all sources of exposure to dietary nitrate are considered (food additive, natural presence and contamination), the ADI would be exceeded for all age groups at the mean and the highest exposure.
Based on the secretion rates of nitrate (20–25%) into the saliva and the range of conversion rates of nitrate to nitrite (5–36%) in the mouth, a range for the overall conversion percentage between 1% and 9% would be estimated.
Exceeding the ADI is a reason for caution, not a measure of harm.
What goes into bacon, and what's left
US rules set how much nitrite goes into the cure for injected bacon (dry-cured bacon has its own limit):
With respect to bacon injected with curing ingredients and massaged bacon, sodium nitrite shall be used at 120 parts per million (ppm) ingoing or an equivalent amount of potassium nitrite shall be used (148 ppm ingoing); and 550 ppm of sodium ascorbate or sodium erythorbate (isoascorbate) shall be used.
A UK survey measured how much nitrite is left in bacon on supermarket shelves:
The mean residual nitrite concentration for all bacon samples was 10.80 mg/kg.
The range of residual nitrite concentrations for the 89 samples was 1–56 mg/kg.
The twist: 'uncured' bacon
Bacon sold as "uncured" can be cured with celery powder. In 2019 a US consumer group petitioned the regulator about those labels:
The petition requests that the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) prohibit the statements, "No Nitrate or Nitrite Added" and "Uncured," in the labeling of products that have been processed using any source of nitrate or nitrite, including non-synthetic sources, such as celery powder.
FSIS intends to conduct rulemaking to propose to prohibit the statements, “No Nitrate or Nitrite Added” and “Uncured,” on products that have been processed using any source of nitrates or nitrites.
FSIS is the meat safety arm of the US Department of Agriculture; it answered in 2020. We found no final rule yet.
What you'll hear at the table
Here is each nitrate claim, checked against its source.
You'll hear: Celery has more nitrate than bacon.
Holds up
In the survey, celery carried far more nitrate than the bacon category, and spinach more still.
4) Whole - Muscle Brine Cured (Uncooked) Bacon 7.31/ 25.57
Nitrate levels of conventional broccoli, cabbage, celery, lettuce and spinach were 394.38, 417.56, 1,495.48, 850.46 and 2,797.18 ppm, respectively, while their organic counterparts averaged 204.29, 551.97, 911.94, 844.06 and 1,317.73 ppm.
You'll hear: If vegans don't worry about celery, nobody should worry about bacon.
Doesn't hold up
The main concern with bacon is processed meat's link to bowel cancer, with nitrite-derived nitrosamines one suspected reason. Vegetable nitrate isn't free of questions either: some becomes nitrite in the mouth. But the two aren't the same risk, and celery's nitrate doesn't cancel bacon's.
In the case of processed meat, this classification is based on sufficient evidence from epidemiological studies that eating processed meat causes colorectal cancer.
‘Meat and meat products’ is the main food category contributing to TCNA exposure.
You'll hear: Uncured bacon has no nitrite in it.
Doesn't hold up
"Uncured" bacon can be cured with celery powder, a natural source of nitrate or nitrite. The US regulator has said it intends to stop the label on products made that way.
FSIS intends to conduct rulemaking to propose to prohibit the statements, “No Nitrate or Nitrite Added” and “Uncured,” on products that have been processed using any source of nitrates or nitrites.
You'll hear: Nitrite is why processed meat causes cancer.
Not settled
N-nitroso compounds are one suspect among several, and IARC says the mechanism isn't fully understood.
Some of these chemicals are known or suspected carcinogens, but despite this knowledge it is not yet fully understood how cancer risk is increased by red meat or processed meat.
The referee's verdict
- Right, for the bacon eater: celery and other leafy vegetables carry far more nitrate than bacon, and added nitrate is a small part of the nitrate people eat.
- Right, for the vegetable eater: the worry about bacon was never mainly its nitrate; it's processed meat's link to bowel cancer, with nitrite-derived nitrosamines one suspected cause, and meat products are the main food source of the nitrosamines EFSA measured.
- Not settled: how much of processed meat's cancer link comes from nitrite, rather than other compounds in processed and cooked meat, and how vegetable nitrate turned to nitrite in the body compares.
Try it with your own plate
See what a stick of celery gives you, and what comes with it.
Sources
- Keeton JT, Osburn WN, Hardin MD, Bryan NS (2009). A national survey of the nitrite/nitrate concentrations in cured meat products and non-meat foods available at retail. Texas A&M University; National Pork Board project 08-124 (summary page). (opens in a new tab)Evidence: Measured in food. A US retail survey funded by the pork industry's National Pork Board.Read: Pork Checkoff summary page, in Chrome
- Crowe and colleagues (2020). Evaluating the residual nitrite concentrations of bacon in the United Kingdom. Foods 9(7):916. (opens in a new tab)Evidence: Measured in food. Eighty-nine UK supermarket bacon samples.Read: full text, in Chrome
- US Code of Federal Regulations, 9 CFR 424.22(b), use of nitrite in bacon. (opens in a new tab)Evidence: Regulatory assessmentRead: eCFR text, in Chrome
- EFSA Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources added to Food (2017). Re-evaluation of sodium nitrate (E 251) and potassium nitrate (E 252) as food additives. EFSA Journal 15(6):4787. (opens in a new tab)Evidence: Regulatory assessmentRead: Wiley full text, in Chrome
- EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM) (2023). Risk assessment of N-nitrosamines in food. EFSA Journal 21(3):7884. (opens in a new tab)Evidence: Regulatory assessmentRead: EFSA/Wiley abstract, in Chrome
- International Agency for Research on Cancer (2015). Q&A on the carcinogenicity of the consumption of red meat and processed meat. (opens in a new tab)Evidence: Not applicable. IARC's public explanation of its 2015 classification.Read: PDF text layer, in Chrome
- USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (10 December 2020). Response to petition 19-03 (Center for Science in the Public Interest) on 'Uncured' and 'No Nitrate or Nitrite Added' labels. (opens in a new tab)Evidence: Regulatory assessmentRead: PDF text layer, in Chrome
- Keeton JT, Osburn WN, Hardin MD, Bryan NS (2009). A national survey of the nitrite/nitrate concentrations in cured meat products and non-meat foods available at retail. Final report, National Pork Board project 08-124. (opens in a new tab)Evidence: Measured in food. A US retail survey funded by the pork industry.Read: PDF text layer, in Chrome
- EFSA Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources added to Food (2017). Re-evaluation of potassium nitrite (E 249) and sodium nitrite (E 250) as food additives. EFSA Journal 15(6):4786. (opens in a new tab)Evidence: Regulatory assessmentRead: Wiley full text, in Chrome