Older readers might remember an online platform called Facebook that offered it’s complicated as an option to describe one’s relationship status. It’s about the same with nitrite and nitrate.
What are nitrites and nitrates – and where do they come from?
What are nitrite and nitrate? Both are forms of nitrogen that are part of our environment that can be easily converted into each other, so distinguishing between both forms is not always helpful (but more about this later). There are many different sources, some of them natural – such as bacteria that can take nitrogen out of the air – or artificial fertilisers (they get a lot of bad press, but saved more lives than most other inventions by making global food production possible).
