How Natural Is Natural? A Tale of Corned Beef

Our beloved local natural food stores play by different rules as to what kinds of things they'll stock. Timely case in point is corned beef. Here are some of the curing ingredients in the Harris Ranch corned beef brisket that's on sale for $2.99/lb this week at both Sprouts and Sunflower: sodium phosphates, sodium erythorbate, and sodium nitrite. I'm no expert, but that doesn't sound completely natural to me. Meanwhile, the Market Made corned beef brisket on sale now at Whole Foods for $5.99/lb contains nothing but the beef and recognizable seasonings like paprika and mustard seeds. As always, it's a matter of awareness, balanced by the size of your wallet. P.S. If you're concerned about nitrites (and many people aren't), it pays to look closely when buying cold cuts, too.