Dietz & Watson Removes Nitrates, Nitrites From Deli Meats

With a mission to enhance its better-for-you deli offerings, Dietz & Watson is refreshing its product line to be uncured by the end of 2020. Deli slicing meats including turkey, chicken breast, ham and roast beef will be prepared without added nitrates or nitrites.

Dietz & Watson will also remove nitrates and nitrites from other products, such as franks, sausages and snacks, and said it will release an ongoing list of upgraded items on its website as the items become available.

“Our turkey and chicken breasts have always been uncured, so removing nitrates and nitrites from some of our other products is just another step toward giving consumers the most choice at the deli,” said Lauren Eni, VP of brand strategy and a fourth-generation family member of the Philadelphia-based company, in a statement.

Nitrates and nitrites are preservatives commonly used in processed meats to enhance their color and prolong their shelf life. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulates allowable levels of inorganic nitrates and nitrites to no more than 500 parts per million and 200 parts per million, respectively, in the final meat product.

While there is limited evidence of the cancer-causing potential of nitrates and nitrites, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, health- and wellness-seeking consumers are increasingly opting for foods made without additives and preservatives.

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Crafted from family recipes featuring hand-trimmed lean beef, ham, turkey and chicken breast, Dietz & Watson’s line of deli meats is made without artificial colors, flavors, fillers, extenders or MSG. The company in the mid-1970s introduced its Gourmet Lite line, featuring lower-sodium, low-fat, low-cholesterol turkey breast and deli ham, as well as a no-salt-added turkey breast.

In addition, the company’s better-for-you Originals line, introduced in 2015, features organic and no-antibiotics-ever deli meats and cheeses, which are already free from nitrates and nitrites.

“We are all about and have always been about responding to what consumers want, and we pride ourselves on giving consumers the most choice at the deli,” Eni said. “While there is very little evidence that nitrates are harmful, more and more consumers are choosing to eat meats that are not cured with nitrates, so we found a natural way to get that traditional color and flavor in cured meats without them.”