Of course - sorry I didn't realise people didn't know what they are.

Sodium Nitrate is a preservative that is used in ham, bacon, hot dogs, processed meats among other things. It is recommended that the intake is kept to a minimum due to the strong link with early ingestion or frequent ingestion and cancer - mostly colorectal cancer, pancreatic and stomach cancer. I think in some studies frequent eating of these products increased the cancer risk by up to 50 percent for colorectal cancer.

As with all things there is a duality. Some say it's not a problem but more and more nutritionalists and dieticians are suggesting that we steer clear of these products due to these links. Also the high salt level in these products affects arterial development.