This citizen petition is based on accumulating scientific information on excess risks of childhood brain tumors and leukemia from the consumption of hot dogs containing nitrite preservatives.
Nitrites combine with amines naturally present in meat to form carcinogenic N-nitroso compounds.
Furthermore, epidemiologic evidence has associated N-nitroso carcinogens with cancer of the oral cavity, urinary bladder, esophagus, stomach and brain. There is substantial evidence on the risks of childhood cancer from the consumption of meats containing nitrites. In 1982, Preston-Martin, et al . found that consumption during pregnancy of meats cured with sodium nitrite has been associated with development of brain tumors in the offspring. Recent case-control studies have confirmed the risks of cancer from consumption of hot dogs. Eating many hot dogs by children, as well maternal hot dog consumption during pregnancy, has been shown to be associated with brain cancer and leukemia in children.