Welcome to my series on Nutrition Myths vs. Facts. For this post, I’m covering the basics of “processed” and packaged or prepared beef, so keep reading for the facts from a registered dietitian!
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by the North American Meat Institute, a contractor to the Beef Checkoff. I was compensated for my time. As always, all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the partners who support Street Smart Nutrition!
One of the most common questions I get from clients in my nutrition counseling practice is around meal planning. My clients are overwhelmed at where to start and just want to know, “Where do I start?” Whether it’s parents with young kids, busy millennials, or empty nesters, so many people are craving more convenience, simplicity, and satisfaction in their meals. Does this sound like you?
At the same time, one of the most common concerns I hear from these same clients is that they’re cautious about relying on “processed” food. That’s because at some point in time, they heard that processed foods are “bad” or “wrong” and they feel like they should be cooking every meal from scratch.
As a non-diet dietitian, I’m never shy about sharing that no, that’s not how it has to be! So as they’re contemplating where to start with meal planning, we often start with convenience. In order to build a sustainable eating habit, it has to fit into your lifestyle, budget, and taste preference.
I readily invite convenience into my kitchen at every opportunity because it saves time, energy, and sometimes money. And when it comes to addressing safety or health concerns, I’m also happy to share that processed and prepared foods (including beef!) can all be part of an eating pattern that fits their hectic lifestyles. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with redefining what “healthy” eating looks like for you, so if you enjoy roast beef, beef jerky, hot dogs, pepperoni, frozen meatballs, or other prepared beef options, keep reading!
Prepared Beef: Myths vs. Facts
As a dietitian, I have to keep in mind that not everyone eats for the same reasons. I mean, yes, we can generally assume we all eat to not feel hungry and satisfy our appetite. But beyond that, we also choose foods based on how they taste to us, how much they cost, and how hard or easy it is to find them. We also consider other factors like how much time, effort, or skill it takes to prepare certain foods.
For these reasons, I have absolutely no hesitations about including prepared beef as an option for my nutrition counseling clients. Let’s take a closer look at why:
What is “processed” vs. “prepared”?
Humans have been processing their food for thousands of years. Early methods of food processing ensured that food could be stored safely and was an essential part of survival. Fast forward to modern times, and the goal of food processing usually centers around preserving quality, enhancing flavor, and food safety. Not to mention, it saves a ton of time. I don’t know about you, but I don’t really want to spend hours of my day wrapped up in feeding myself. Home cooking is a form of processing and it can take a lot of time!
You probably eat some form of processed food every day. If you recently shopped for canned beans, frozen fruit, pre-chopped veggies, shredded cheese, or pasteurized milk, you have some in your kitchen right now! These are just a few of the many ways we can take a food in its original form and process it into a form that’s safer, better tasting, and longer-lasting.
Whenever I’m talking to clients, friends, or family about this topic, I instead try to use “packaged” or “prepared” foods. It’s a subtle change in the language but I find it to be more accurate. Processed food is everywhere, and there are varying degrees of processing. By being more precise and clear about what I’m referring to, I can be much more specific. If I’m talking about beef jerky or sliced roast beef from the deli counter, I’m talking about a prepared type of beef. Is it processed? Yes, but so is a dry-aged ribeye steak you might enjoy on the grill or at a restaurant.
“Processed” can be a polarizing term because many people automatically assume that a processed food is an unhealthy food. As a dietitian, I prefer to take a more neutral stance on it. Because yes, while some highly processed foods are not the most nourishing option available, they are not completely devoid of value. They can be more affordable, shelf-stable, palatable, or accessible. To discount or ignore those benefits of processing is a significant privilege.
What about the sodium in prepared meat?
Salting meats to preserve them is one of the oldest forms of food processing and it’s still used today. The current dietary guidelines recommend no more 2,300 mg of sodium per day. For low sodium diets, the current recommendation is no more than 1,500 mg of sodium per day.
Here are some fast facts about sodium in our food:
- A food can be considered “reduced sodium” if it has a 75% reduction compared to the original formulation
- A food is “low sodium” if it contains 140 mg or less per serving. If it’s less than 35 mg per serving, it can be considered “very low sodium”
- Any food with 5 mg of sodium or less per serving can be considered “no sodium” [1]
If you’re looking for lower sodium options in the prepared meat category, scan the labels to look for these terms or flip the package over to see the nutrition facts label on the back. Prepared beef producers have made an effort in recent years to gradually reduce the total amount of sodium without sacrificing flavor or safety. Look for options like hotdogs with less than 250 mg of sodium per serving, deli meats with 140 mg of sodium, or very low sodium deli meats (which will have less than 35 mg of sodium per serving).
Myth vs. Fact: Sodium Nitrite
Sodium nitrite is a type of salt used in curing meats. It’s an important tool for food safety, as it greatly increases the safety of prepared beef and other cured meats. It blocks the botulism pathogen as well as Listeria monocytogenes, which can be a risk for pregnant people, older adults, and people with a compromised immune system.
Street Smart Nutrition Tip: Keep in mind that sodium nitrite is NOT the same as sodium nitrate. Sodium nitrate is only used in a select few specialty cured meats at this point in time. [2]
It’s a myth that prepared beef and other meats are a significant source of sodium nitrite in our diets. You might be surprised to learn that over 90% of dietary nitrite comes from leafy greens and other veggies like spinach, lettuce, and radishes. They contain the nitrate form that is converted to the nitrite form once it makes contact with saliva as you eat it. The amount of dietary nitrite we get from cured meats is estimated at less than 5%.
There are strict limits on how much sodium nitrite can be added to cured meats. The USDA sets the limit at no more than 156 ppm (parts per million). In most cases, even less is used, so the final products could contain as little as 10 ppm or less. This level is far less than in decades past, so the overall amount of sodium and sodium nitrite in prepared beef has decreased over the last 25 years.
The potential health risk isn’t necessarily sodium nitrate itself; it’s the potential for the nitrate molecule to chemically react with other compounds in food during the cooking process. The result of these chemical reactions have been weakly linked to an increased risk of cancer, but can be reduced by adding antioxidants to the foods to combat this. That’s why you’ll often see sodium ascorbate (at 0.15% of total meat weight) added to prepared meats. Sodium ascorbate is another type of salt of ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), a nutrient with well-established antioxidant potential.
Since most cured meats use a nitrite form of sodium for curing, you can rest assured that the known food safety benefits far outweigh the potential risks.
So what’s the bottom line on prepared meat?
I constantly tell folks (about pretty much any food), if you want to eat, go ahead. If you don’t, don’t.
It sounds simple, but what I mean by that is you can exercise your own choice. If you don’t like it due to a taste preference, there’s no reason to have to include it. But if you’re concerned about safety or health, there’s no reason to actively avoid it, either. My tagline is “fearlessly nourishing meals”. That’s because I never want someone to feel pressure to avoid a food they like based on fear or misinformation!
If you’re curious to learn more, here are some resources with additional links and more information about prepared meats (plus some delicious recipes):
- Processed Meat: Convenience, Nutrition, and Taste from the NAMI archive of resources
- Sodium Nitrite Fact Sheet from the NAMI archive of resources
- 20 Easy and Delicious Ways to Eat and Enjoy Prepared Meat by Liz’s Healthy Table
More Ideas for Prepared Beef
I’ve already highlighted a few types of prepared beef like beef jerky and sliced deli meats (roast beef, pastrami, corned beef). But there are other options available that can be combined in delicious ways!
One of my current favorites is a take on a charcuterie board, but a little more casual. You may have seen the “grazing board” concept take off in the last year or two. I think the combination of simplicity, minimal or no cooking, and variety are all part of that. For me, these are like a “snack meal” that I can throw together without extensive planning or prep, and the convenience of prepared beef ensures it’s actually filling enough to be considered a meal!
Here’s how I like to arrange mine:
- I start with the protein element, like summer sausage, pepperoni, shaved slices of roast beef or pastrami, and even mini beef sticks or beef jerky
- Next, I add my cheeses. I try to include 2-3 different types of varieties (one hard, one soft, one somewhere in the middle)
- Then I add some color with fruits or veggies. Berries and grapes are always a delicious pairing, but you can also do sliced apples or pears. For veggies, I like a lot of crunchy, so I include baby carrots, sliced bell peppers, or celery sticks
- Finally, the “garnish” of different nuts, spreads, or honey for a little sweetness and texture
Serve this with your favorite whole-grain crackers or mini baguettes, and this can be done from start to finish in less than 10 minutes!
Here’s a handy visual guide you can rely on if you want to try your hand at making a grazing board with prepared beef:
I hope you’re feeling more informed and excited about using prepared and packaged beef in your future meals and snacks!
And while you’re here, be sure to check out my grilling recipe that uses 100% beef hotdogs: Spicy Buffalo Hotdogs with Blue Cheese Slaw. It’s just one more way to fuse convenience, flavor, and nutrition into a meal that centers around prepared beef!
Thank you again to the sponsor for this post: the North American Meat Institute, a contractor to the Beef Checkoff!
References
- Salt Use In Meat and Poultry Products. North American Meat Institute Health & Wellness Fact Sheets. (2015, January). https://www.meatinstitute.org/index.php?ht=a/GetDocumentAction/i/93534.
- Sodium Nitrite: The Facts. North American Meat Institute Health & Wellness Fact Sheets. (2015, January). https://www.meatinstitute.org/index.php?ht=a/GetDocumentAction/i/93532.
