What's Inside? cont'd from Pg.3
Lactic Acid Starter Culture
Slim Jim is called, by its manufacturers, a “meat” stick. Slim Jim’s have a common thread with cold meats like pepperoni and salami. There is bacteria present in Slim Jims in order to produce lactic acid to lower the pH of the Slim Jim to 5.0 and kill harmful bacteria. Lactic acid’s formula is C3H6O3.
Salt
Salt is also an ingredient in the making of Slim Jim. The salt is in Slim Jim’s in order to bind the water molecules in the meat. After this process there is little water left for any microbial activity or in other words preventing spoiling. It is also known as Sodium Chloride (NaCl). One normal sized Slim Jim gives a person more than 1/6 of the sodium your body needs in a day.
Sodium Nitrite
Sodium nitrite is used in Slim Jims to combine with the myoglobin (an iron- and oxygen-binding protein found in the muscle tissue of vertebrates) to keep it from turning gray. If you consume 1,400 Slim Jims you would have ate 6 grams of sodium nitrite which is a deadly dose. NaNO2 is the formula for sodium nitrite.
Other Ingredients: