Curing salt

Curing salts are used in food preservation to prevent or slow spoilage by bacteria or fungus. Generally they are used for pickling meats as part of the process to make sausage or cured meat. Curing salts are generally a mixture of table salt and sodium nitrite. They usually contain sodium nitrite which serves to inhibit the growth of bacteria, specifically Clostridium botulinum in an effort to prevent botulism, and helps preserve the color of cured meat. Many also contain red dye that makes them pink to prevent them from being confused with common table salt. Curing salts are not to be confused with Himalayan pink salt, which is pure salt with trace elements that give it a pink color.