PrimaFoodie Ingredient Spotlight: Nitrates

Nitrates have been around for centuries—even longer. A food additive widely known for its presence in deli meats, nitrates are nitrogen compounds. But are they harmful, healthy, somewhere in between? We break down the facts.

What are nitrates?

Nitrates are naturally occurring compounds that consist of oxygen and nitrogen. We say 'naturally occurring' as nitrites have an organic presence in animals, including humans, as well as in water, soil, and various plants. 

There are also added nitrates, which humans have been putting into foods. 

How do nitrates and nitrites differ?

People often talk about nitrites and nitrates interchangeably because the compounds are in the same chemical family—but there is a difference between the two. While both are oxygen and nitrogen compounds, nitrates (NO3) have three oxygen atoms that bond with one nitrogen atom, whereas nitrites (NO2) have only two oxygen atoms. 

This slight chemical variation can make a difference in how our bodies digest and convert them. When consumed, nitrates can naturally convert to nitrites in our bodies. Biological research shows nitrites and their two oxygen atoms to be more chemically prone to react with other chemicals. Additionally, some nitrites convert to nitric oxide in our bodies, a chemical that aids in brain functioning and blood flow regulation.

Where are nitrates found?

Naturally, nitrates are abundant in some vegetables, including:

• Leafy greens

• Beets

• Spinach

• Celery

Nitrates are also naturally found in animal meats, poultry, and dairy.

Why are nitrates added to foods?

While nitrates organically show up in nature, humans have been purposefully adding nitrates to foods for centuries, with some historians starting as early as 3000 BC. The main reason for adding nitrates to food is for preserving purposes. Nitrates keep bacteria, particularly clostridium botulinum, and other organisms from growing. 

But more recently, particularly in the past century with the proliferation of processed foods, nitrates were also lauded for their ability to improve the texture and appearance of meats. This is why nitrates are so widely and rightfully associated with processed meats, such as cold cuts and hot dogs. They keep these processed foods shelf-stable and give them that certain pink hue and specific texture.

Are nitrates harmful?

When it comes to naturally occurring nitrates, the research underscores that these have benefits. For one, these compounds are natural and are found in some of the most essential and healthy foods to consume, such as leafy greens. Also, as we noted, when consumed nitrates convert to nitrites which then convert to nitric oxide—and nitric oxide plays a role in regulating blood pressure, not to mention other benefits such as boosting circulation. A 2019 study found that eating dietary nitrates through about one daily cup of vegetables can reduce heart disease. Of course, other nutrients in these vegetables play a critical health role.

Now when we start looking at added nitrates, things get murkier. There’s been wide speculation that nitrates are potentially harmful to our health. Various reasons propel this: One is that when certain foods with added nitrates are cooked on high heat, the nitrates convert to nitrites which then convert to the chemical nitrosamines, which health studies have linked to cancer in laboratory animals. 

Furthermore, a 2015 report from the World Organization (WHO) flat-out said that eating processed meats could lead to colon cancer. But is this all because of the nitrates or because of other factors related to processed foods? The jury is still out on this one, but the evidence has many heads turning—so much so that WHO considers processed meats with nitrates to be a Group 1 carcinogen. 

Additionally, various advocacy groups and researchers have warned and continue to warn that added nitrates are potentially harmful and carcinogenic.  

Our PrimaFoodie Take

We confidently and wholly say: We avoid added nitrates. Our reasons vary. 

For one, we always ask: If something doesn’t need to be in a food, why add it or consume it? We now have the refrigeration capabilities to keep meats and other items fresh without the need for such preservatives. 

Also, the research mentioned above gives us great pause. Our bodies respond differently to natural nitrates versus human-manipulated and added nitrates. If WHO has been warning against nitrate-added foods, we’re listening. Like so many additives, consuming these in small amounts may be fine, but the cumulative effects could very well be dire.

But here’s the bigger conversation: Foods that contain added nitrates are often ultra-processed and filled with other manipulated and unhealthy additives. Nitrates or not, we view most processed foods as a threat to our wellbeing. Give us fresh organic vegetables and a steak over processed deli meat any day. 

The PrimaFoodie Guide to Olive Oil

Olive oil is one of the most popular kitchen staples. “In most of our pantries is a bottle of olive oil, “says Alison Carroll, founder of the California-based olive oil company Wonder Valley. Still, like so many staples, this golden liquid is a mystery. We might douse it on our salads and in our pans, but how much do we know about where it comes from and—most importantly—how to spot a high-quality one? Here, we break it all down.

Olive Oil 101

Olive oil is the bright, often golden, sometimes green liquid that comes from pressing the olive fruit. It’s deemed oil and used and treated as such, but olive oil is technically a fruit juice. Used for centuries as a means of cooking, dressing, and adding depth and flavor to dishes (some historical records date its use to 2000 BC), olive oil is beloved for its fruity taste and abundant healthy unsaturated fats.

What are the different types of olive oil?

Extra virgin, light, cold-pressed—there are various types or “grades” of olive oil. Mostly, these modifiers are linked to when the olives are harvested and how the juice is extracted and handled. But there’s so much more here, including incredible flavor, smell, and feel. 

A quick note on acid: Olives naturally have fatty acids. One of the main types is called oleic acid, which makes up the majority (70 to 80 percent) of olive oil. A true extra virgin olive oil has a lower acidity than other olive oils, generally below 2 percent.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

The gold standard for olive oil, extra virgin is touted as the tastiest, purest form. When oil is deemed extra virgin, it means it’s the first pressing from the olives (sometimes olives are pressed several times to extract the most juice), and the juice has been extracted using a cold-pressed method—a chemical and heat-free process. Once extracted, the juice is then kept pure, and never heated, pasteurized, or refined. Extra virgin olive oil is usually the fruitiest, most peppery olive oil with the lowest natural acidity. A true high-quality olive oil has no defects, such as poor taste or “fustiness,” fermentation that happens from a lack of oxygen.

*PrimaNote: Extra virgin olive oil is the only type we choose. Still, quality can vary when it comes to extra virgin olive oil. That’s because there are no regulated standards for stating an oil is such. As Carroll says, lab analysis and a professional taste panel determine quality. “And because of this subjective science, many oils can unjustly label a defective/ lower quality oil as extra virgin.” 

Olio Nuevo

This is a type of extra virgin olive oil that comes from the very first olive harvest of the year. These olives are super young and green, giving olio nuevo varieties a bright green color and a strong peppery taste. This is touted to have the highest levels of nutrients, including polyphenols.

Virgin olive Oil

Virgin olive oil is still supposed to be high quality from the first pressing of an olive. It’s also unrefined. The difference from an extra virgin is that a virgin oil often has some defects.  

Light Olive Oil

This is oil that’s been refined and treated to rid any impurities. Usually from a second or third extraction, it lacks in color and taste, and even in nutrients. The “light” here can be misleading because olive oil is fat, so it can’t be light, in any sense. While some may like this variety because of its lighter taste, we recommend opting for another neutral oil if that’s the case. (Simply put, we avoid this type of olive oil at all costs.)

Pure Olive Oil

In theory, all olive oils should be pure, so this word is a red flag. Essentially, pure or light olive oils are refined options that are a blend of various types, such as virgin and refined. 

Shopping for Olive Oil: What to Look For

Now that we’ve outlined the different types, we’re going to strictly refer to extra virgin olive oil from here on out.

Finding a great, high-quality, real extra virgin olive oil can be hard. Countless companies claim to offer a true option when they’re mislabeling, mixing, or offering stale or fake oils. Here’s what to look out for to make sure you grab a stellar bottle:

Harvest Date

A harvest date is one of the most critical things to look for—NOT an expiration date, which can mean nothing. A harvest date tells you when the olives were crushed. And given that olive oil doesn’t have a long shelf life—a great oil should be consumed within a year, ideally six months—it’s best to aim for the freshest oil possible. 

For context, here’s what Alison Carroll has to say: “The harvest date is the most essential component on the bottle. Expiration dates can be arbitrary and overgenerous. When you see a harvest date, what you are buying is something that is freshly pressed and doesn’t have a long shelf life.”

Sustainable Packaging

Aim for oil that’s packaged in a sustainable material like aluminum, stainless steel, or dark glass. Each of these blocks UV rays, which can break down the oil, and don’t leach chemicals into the juice. 

A List of the Types of Olive Varieties

If a company is offering a high-quality oil, they’ll spell out the olive varietals that have been pressed—i.e. if they’re olives from Italy, Spain, Portugal, California, or elsewhere. This level of transparency usually means the company cares. 

But let’s dig deeper: We encourage skepticism over inexpensive oils labeled “Product of Greece” for instance without listing the varietals. It can be quite likely that the olives weren’t grown or pressed in that country, but rather they were just bottled in that country. This is a tactic many companies use to buy cheap oil from around the world, blend them, then call them a “Product of Greece” when they’re a product of several countries, and of poor quality. As Carroll says, “Read the fine print on the label. The front label could say, for example, ‘Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Tuscany’ but on the back label you see ‘product of Tunisia, Italy, Spain, Greece.’ This is common for cheap olive oils.”

In general, aim to buy olive oil that derives all from one place.

How to store your olive oil

This is key: Place your oil away from heat and light (even when it’s packaged in a proper container). And use it up! We love what Carroll says about using high-quality olive oil: Enjoy it! Experience it! “A lot of our context with olive oil is that it’s this ubiquitous condiment and usually next to vinegar (which ages wonderfully),” she says. “Don’t be precious with it and let it sit and collect dust. Store it away from direct heat or sunlight, not next to a sunny window or stove. A pantry is great.”

A Few PrimaFavorite Extra Virgin Olive Oil Companies
These are some oils derived from a single source and produced by companies who care. 

McEvoy Ranch
Wonder Valley
Brightland
Nuvo Olive Oil
Fat Gold
Kosterina Everyday Olive Oil 

Curious to learn more about cooking with olive oil? Check out our Guide to Cooking with Oils and Fats. 

Exploring the Purity and Allure of Extra Virgin Olive Oil with Alison Carroll

By Stacey Lindsay

One look at Wonder Valley, the naturalist collection of pure extra virgin olive oils and olive oil products, and you’d think its founder was obsessed with the gold liquid for their entire life. 

In truth, Alison Carroll began looking closely at olive oil and its nuances when she started working at the California Olive Oil Council. “It was like discovering gold hiding in plain sight,” she tells us of what she learned. “I am someone who buys most of their produce at the farmers market, grew up working on farms, loves to forage, and has apprenticed in kitchens —but I never really gave much thought to olive oil.”

Once she started to dig in, learning about the notes, freshness, cultivation, and industry, Carroll fell deeper in love with olive oil. So much so that in 2014 she and her husband, Jay, launched Wonder Valley in Joshua Tree, California. The collection, which includes freshly harvested extra virgin olive oil from California and olive oil-based skin care products, is as aesthetically stunning as it is pure. Bottles that exude the bohemian allure of the high desert hold extra virgin olive oil, which is cold-pressed unrefined olive oil of the highest grade, that is fresh, buttery, and rich in polyphenols. 

This is a bold mission, given how the olive oil industry is filled with companies claiming to offer a pure extra virgin product when they’re bottling stale, mixed, or even fraudulent oils. To this end, Carroll and her husband dedicate much of their energy to education around transparency, freshness, and all-around great oil. 

We asked Carroll to fill us in on what to look out for when sourcing an extra virgin olive oil. She offers her expert insight, as well as why driving her own business for nearly the past decade has given her such purpose. “It feels like being in the California wine industry back in the 60s as it's just starting to take off,” she says. “I feel lucky to be involved at such an exciting time and to contribute to growing the awareness of California’s incredible olive oil industry.” 

A Conversation with Alison Carroll of Wonder Valley

There are countless olive oil companies out there claiming to sell great extra virgin olive oil when they’re actually not. What concerns you in the olive oil industry that you’d like people to be aware of? 

The process of certifying olive oil as extra grade is a rather complicated one. The first step is lab analysis, which is a straightforward process that will confirm things like the polyphenol count —which will tell us that it is, in fact, a freshly pressed, not old olive oil. Lab analysis also reveals any fraudulent oils that might be cut with seed oils or older virgin-grade oils. But it can miss a lot of the more nuanced defects that disqualify an oil from extra virgin grade—defects that only a trained professional olive oil panel can notice. 

My former role was to oversee the taste panel for the California Olive Oil Council, the only one of its kind in North America. This organization was formed to put transparency on an unregulated industry and give meaning to the term ‘extra virgin’. There are counterpart panels throughout the world with the same task of sniffing and tasting any potential defects in the olive oils of their region. While the COOC’s panel does evaluate the majority of olive oils made in California (which really represents all domestic production), there is no requirement to submit your oil. The complications are that the evaluation is a human process, that it needs to happen annually with each harvest, that it's a voluntary process for producers, and that the number of trained olive oil tasters is eclipsed by the volume of olive oil out there and does not include imported oils.

If someone were to start investigating high-quality, pure olive oil, what are some things to watch out for? 

Keep in mind that olive oil is a fruit juice, and unlike wine, it doesn’t age well. Olive oil’s enemies are light, time, and heat. Oxidation (the defect is called rancidity) is a very common issue for olive oil and even the best extra virgin grade oil will eventually turn rancid with time. This is why a harvest date is essential, so you know when it was made. Read the fine print on the label. The front label could say, for example, ‘Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Tuscany’ but on the back label you see ‘product of Tunisia, Italy, Spain, Greece.’ This is common for cheap olive oils. What this tells us is that it’s impossible to know really when this olive oil was made or to have transparency on the process of growing or production. 

Alison Carroll with an olive oil harvest.

Glass or metal is best for storing, not plastic, which will make the oil more vulnerable to extreme temperatures. Dark glass will help with UV protection and extend the shelf life. 

If you’re taking the time and care to invest in high-quality extra virgin olive oil enjoy it! A lot of our context with olive oil is that it’s this ubiquitous condiment and usually next to vinegar (which ages wonderfully). Don’t be precious with it and let it sit and collect dust. Store it away from direct heat or sunlight, not next to a sunny window or stove. A pantry is great. 

Remember to use it up, cook with it—and savor it.

Why is a harvest date more important than an expiration date?

The harvest date is the most essential component on the bottle. Expiration dates can be arbitrary and overgenerous. When you see a harvest date, what you are buying is something that is freshly pressed and doesn’t have a long shelf life. 

For your company, Wonder Valley, you pick your olives “under-ripe”? What benefits does this offer?

All olives start a pale green then mature to purple hues and then when fully ripe turn a deep black. It’s an easier process to harvest overripe olives. Think about any time you’ve picked fruit: it’s harder to pull that blueberry off the bush when it's green. Also, harvesting fruit that’s overly ripe and juicy gives a bigger yield. But harvesting olives on the greener side gives us an oil with a higher concentration of polyphenols, a longer shelf life, and a very bright and robust flavor that—to me—stands out. You can notice the olive oil in a dish. 

What do you love most about olive oil?

I love that olive oil is both elemental and a common denominator. In most of our pantries is a bottle of olive oil. Even with the widespread food allergies and dietary preferences, olive oil is still something we all use, perhaps daily. And a very good olive oil can make something simple like a salad extraordinary.

Alison Carroll in the California desert.

To learn more about Wonder Valley and pure extra virgin olive oil, visit welcometowondervalley.com.

5 Organizations that Are Working to Change Our Food System for the Better (and Why We Need to Support Them)

Our biggest driver at PrimaFoodie is revealing how our food ends up on our plates. How our food is grown, processed, packaged, and marketed is a winding, complicated journey. Often our food system is fueled by legislation and corporations that put energy toward profit and efficiency over human and planetary health. 

Because a handful of corporations run the main links on the food supply chain, smaller farmers are often left scrambling. This has been the work of administrations for decades with a goal to bring cheaper food products to the masses. But the result has been catastrophic. Foods laden with pesticides and antibiotics and lacking nutrients have become the norm with nutrient-rich whole foods harder to come by.

We can create change by understanding the backstory of our food and supporting independent farmers. By turning our attention toward those who care about their products, we can bring resilience, equity, and health back to our food system—and to our future. These five organizations are working toward just that.

5 Organizations Working to Change Our Food System

Slow Food USA

In the 1980s, Italian activist Carlo Petrini gathered a group of people to revolt against the inclusion of a McDonald’s in Rome. His fight won legions of followers and attention, and eventually spawned what is now known as Slow Food. Equal parts movement, mindset, and organization, Slow Food aims to reclaim the organic and just roots of food. There are chapters throughout the US and world, each of which organizes educational activities that teach about the connection between our planet, culture, and wellbeing. 

Quivira Coalition

The aim of this organization is on the soil. Quivara works with local farmers and land advocates to educate people on ecosystem resilience and restoring the health of our agriculture—from the ground up. The end game is to bolser rural, local food systems and the economic health of farmers, ultimately to have widespread impacts on land management across the US.

Healthy Food America

Healthy Food American attacks the issue of bettering the food system from two ends: by working to make access to fresh, healthy foods easier while making adulterated, processed foods less accessible. The team here works tirelessly for policy change, with one of its biggest drivers is advocating for a tax on sodas and other sugary drinks. Through community partnerships, advocacy, and policy reform, this non-profit aims to spread awareness around food, its origins, and equitable availability.

Environmental Working Group

For anything we put in and on our bodies, the EWG has our best interest. This third-party organization works with researchers and scientists to bring the latest information on additives in our food and water, as well as in our personal care products. The site is brimming with guides, all of them easily navigable, to help us better understand labels, source the the cleanest produce and items, and advocate for greater transparency and change.

Cook For America

“School food is the solution, not the problem.” Such is the motto of Cook for America, which sheds light on the transformative power of fresh, whole, “scratch-cooked” school meals. The team believes that this access to healthy food is a catalyst for change in the fight against diet-related health issues, including childhood obesity. It makes sense, particularly given research over the last decade that links healthier school lunches to both better test scores and children’s willingness to make healthier eating choices outside of school hours.