Nearly one-fourth of all marine animals, including about 7,000 species of fish, depend upon coral reefs for some part of their life cycle. Learn More at AskFWC Get FWC News Feeds
Although nitrites are the nitrogen compound chiefly used in meat curing, nitrates are used in certain specialty curing processes where a long release of nitrite from parent nitrate stores is needed. The use of nitrates in food preservation is controversial.
Eat More Veggies to Boost Your Dietary Nitrates. Nitrate (chemical symbol NO3-) is an inorganic compound composed of nitrogen and oxygen found naturally in soil and water. The nitrate in our diet comes from both food and drinking water, the highest levels of dietary nitrate are found in vegetables. However, the actual amount of nitrate in vegetables can be highly variable depending on growing conditions.