Is it safe to eat canned ham meat? I eat this ham and scramble eggs for breakfast frequenlty. I worry that the ham might contain harmful preservatives and metals which are toxic to human body. should I just buy fresh ham?

Safe? Probably, but if you look at the horrific environmental impact of mega hog farms in the Carolinas, the inhumanity of factory farming to this intelligent animal and the inferiority of product to a real traditional smoked ham then Monty Python singing the SPAM song should be coming out of your speakers about now. You won't find any pork, but if you want safe meat find a kosher shop <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Hormel lists the ingredients of Spam canned meat as:

Chopped pork shoulder meat with ham meat added.
Salt (for binding, flavour, and firmness)
Water (to help in mixing)
Sugar (for flavour)
Sodium Nitrite (for colour and as a preservative)

If you're worried about the sodium nitrite, here is a great site that explains why it is absolutely necessary for slow cured meats and more, including details on the concern about nitrites and cancer: http://www.askthemeatman.com/how_and_why_to_use_sodium_nitrite.htm

You are talking about Spam, right? I grew up on that stuff, and it's good survival food, but for everyday or frequent eating I'll stick with the fresh. One of these days I'm going to learn how to make my own beef jerky. Since you eat ham and eggs often, you could probably buy fresh ham and use it up before it turns.

Chris has a very good point about the treatment of our meat. "Organic" or at least "all natural" meat is increasingly easier to find these days, and in popular opinion tastes oh so much better. The price can be daunting to buy organic food, though, so you should set some priorities in regards to your food budget.

If I shop for fresh ham, what should I look for? I am clueless. <img src="/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" />

Grocery stores should have ham in ther meat section and if you're lucky and have a meat market even better.

Lee

Gourmet food store or a REAL butcher's shop. Ask questions- they expect most people to not know, and there are differences in hams. Some need to be scrubbed, some need to be soaked.... It varies on how the ham was prepared. Better to have a real peice of piggy there when you get the answers. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

My father was a ground pounder in WWII. Spam was forbidden in our house.

In our household my father (also WWII infantry in the Battle of the Bulge) forbid the serving of lamb. He said they ate it all the time in the war and he couldn't stand it anymore.

Beyond that he wouldn't talk about the war much at all. I know he got the purple heart, bronze star, and silver star, but don't know why. I suppose those are memories best left behind.

"I eat this ham and scramble eggs for breakfast frequenlty."

It is no more dangerous than any other canned food. But you may be setting yourself up for a heart attack depending on what you mean by "frequently." You might want to get your cholesterol checked if you haven't lately.

Spam rocks. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />