Hormel Deli Roast Beef provides a no nitrates, no additives sandwich meat that provides delicious meat without the chemicals normally involved.

The packaging is great. The cardboard outer packaging can easily be recycled, and the inside part is a plastic bag that can be re-ziplocked. The meat itself is "100% natural" and has no MSG or gluten.

The meat has 1g of saturated fat and no trans fats. There are only 25mg of cholesterol and only 520mg of sodium. No carbs at all, and 11g of protein. You get 6% of your daily iron from the serving, which is 4 slices.

I think it's great to get your daily intake of protein - and I also think it's wonderful that you can do that in an easy way which involves no nitrates. Many deli meats have nitrates injected into them to preserve them, and those are not good for you. Absolutely find ways to get healthy options into your menu plan.

But that being said, I do have a few issues to raise with this specific Hormel offering. I love Hormel in general, for their nitrate-free meats, but this one is a little odd. It says 100% natural with no preservatives. Then we have "natural caramel color added". Isn't that artificial to the meat? Does this mean anything you toss into the meat - as long as you find it somewhere in nature - is OK? Then, not to be TOO picky, but this includes salt, baking soda, turbinado sugar ... these are preservatives. Sure salt (sodium chloride or NaCL) might be a little different than say sodium benzoate, but I find it a little iffy for them to say "no preservatives" when clearly the meat is being preserved to last on the shelf for a few weeks.

So now that being said, I think they're just playing a little fast and loose with their marketing speech. The roast beef is quite delicious, and after all, it *is* free of nitrates. It's perfect for a sandwich with a high fiber bread, with a high fiber wrap, put over a salad, wrapped in lettuce, and used in other tasty ways.

Well recommended for anyone who tends to eat deli meats.

UPDATE:

I have been eating this roast beef for many years now and am just so thrilled that a no nitrate, no nitrite, no MSG roast beef product is available on the market. I would absolutely recommend people choose this rather than choosing anything with added chemicals in it. We know the risks of nitrates and nitrites. Avoid them in your foods! Go natural whenever possible.


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