---
title: Senate Votes to Ban Consumer Sales of Sodium Nitrite Above 10 Percent
description: The Senate passed S. 289, making consumer products with 10 percent or more sodium nitrite banned hazardous products. Food and industrial uses are exempt.
author: Darie Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
updated: 2026-08-07T19:29:16.704Z
canonical: https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/senate-sodium-nitrite-ban-10-percent-threshold
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/sodium-nitrite-ban-capitol-118363.webp
categories: Politics
content_type: News
region: United States
publication: Sovereign Magazine
schema_type: Article
---

The Senate has passed a bill that would make any consumer product containing [10 percent or more sodium nitrite by weight](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-119s289es/html/BILLS-119s289es.htm) a banned hazardous product. S. 289, the Youth Poisoning Protection Act, cleared the chamber by voice vote on August 3 and would take effect 90 days after it becomes law.

Sodium nitrite is an ordinary chemical salt, used in small amounts to cure and preserve meat and fish. The threshold sits well above the strength sold for that purpose: curing salts bought for home use generally contain [6.25 percent sodium nitrite](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CRPT-119srpt49/html/CRPT-119srpt49.htm), according to the Senate Commerce Committee's report on the bill.

## Food, Medicine and Industry Are Exempt

The bill does not reach sodium nitrite that meets the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act definitions of a food, drug, device or cosmetic, and it names meat, poultry and egg products explicitly. A rule of construction in the text also leaves commercial and industrial uses alone, provided the material is not customarily sold to or used by consumers.

Those uses are wide. The committee report lists dye and pigment manufacturing, metal coating and corrosion inhibition, and pharmaceutical uses that include treatments for vasodilation and cyanide poisoning. The Congressional Budget Office put the cost of implementing the bill at $2 million over the 2025 to 2030 period, subject to appropriations.

## Poison Center Reports Have Risen Since 2017

The committee report says the National Poison Data System has recorded an increase in self-poisonings involving sodium nitrite since 2017, and that concentrations far above curing strength were easy to buy on e-commerce sites, including Amazon, until an awareness campaign led several online retailers to remove the substance from their marketplaces.

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, whose policy team campaigned for the measure, said limiting access to lethal means during a crisis has long been one of its policy priorities. It said the bill keeps sodium nitrite available for legitimate commercial, industrial and food uses while making it harder to obtain for misuse, and it urged the President to sign the bill.

> "Reducing access to highly lethal means during moments of crisis is one of the most effective, evidence-based strategies for preventing suicide."
> — American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

## The House Has Not Yet Taken Up the Senate's Bill

S. 289 was introduced on January 29, 2025 by Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, with Senators John Curtis of Utah and Bernie Moreno of Ohio, and the Commerce Committee reported it without amendment in March 2025. The House has passed its own version of the measure twice, clearing H.R. 1442 by 378 to 42 on April 29, 2025 and a predecessor bill by 376 to 33 in May 2024.

For the measure to reach the President, the House still has to take up the Senate's text. It was not in session on August 5, met in a pro forma session on August 6 with no votes, and next sits on August 10.

In the United States, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline can be reached by calling or texting 988, or online at [988lifeline.org](https://988lifeline.org/).

## FAQ

**Q: What counts as a high concentration under the bill?**
Ten percent or more sodium nitrite by weight. At or above that level a consumer product would be a banned hazardous product under section 8 of the Consumer Product Safety Act.

**Q: Does the ban affect curing salt used at home?**
No. Curing salts sold for home use generally contain about 6.25 percent sodium nitrite, below the threshold, and the bill separately exempts food, drug, cosmetic and device uses covered by the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

**Q: When would the ban take effect?**
Ninety days after the bill is enacted.

**Q: Is sodium nitrite still allowed in industry?**
Yes. The text preserves commercial and industrial uses that are not customarily sold to or used by consumers, including dye and pigment manufacturing, metal coating and pharmaceutical uses.

**Q: What happens next in Congress?**
The House has to take up the Senate's bill before it can go to the President. The House next sits on August 10.