Dr. Wesley Osburn, associate professor of meat science, at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences division at Texas A&M University, and his team are working on developing an alternative curing system for meat and poultry products using an amino acid that can still protect the food items from microbes and extend shelf life. The goal is to develop an alternative to nitrites currently used as a curing agent in such foods as sausages from beef, pork and poultry, hams, beef jerky and bacon. These agents prevent microbiological contamination and to extend the shelf life of the products, but there also are concerns about how nitrites may affect the human body.