WHO deems processed meats ‘carcinogenic to humans’

CARNIVORES everywhere will be crying into their fry-ups this morning as the World Health Organisation has confirmed what we all feared — too much bacon can be really bad for you.

The World Health Organisation’s International Agency for Research on Cancer released its much-anticipated findings into the “carcinogenicity” of red and processed meat overnight.

The study conducted by 22 experts in 10 different countries deemed that processed meat — including that which has been salted, smoked, cured or fermented such as hot dogs, ham, sausages and biltong — was “carcinogenic to humans” and ranked up there with smoking and alcohol in terms of being bad for you.

It’s based on “sufficient evidence in humans that the consumption of processed meat causes colorectal cancer”. Just 50 grams a day — the equivalent of around one sausage or two slices of ham — can increase the risk of colorectal cancer by 18 per cent.

Red meat including beef, veal, pork, lamb, mutton, horse and goat was classified as “probably carcinogenic to humans” based on “limited evidence” that is consumption cancer-causing. It’s linked with colorectal, pancreatic and prostate cancer, according to the organisation.

Head of the IARC Monographs Programme Dr Kurt Straif said “For an individual, the risk of developing colorectal cancer because of their consumption of processed meat remains small, but this risk increases with the amount of meat consumed.”

“In view of the large number of people who consume processed meat, the global impact on cancer incidence is of public health importance,” he said, of the study that had taken into account research from over 20 years.

IARC director Dr Christopher Wild said the results pose a tricky problem for regulators but it’s further evidence that people should limit their intake.

“At the same time, red meat has nutritional value. Therefore, these results are important in enabling governments and international regulatory agencies to conduct risk assessments, in order to balance the risks and benefits of eating red meat and processed meat and to provide the best possible dietary recommendations,” he said.

Cancer Research UK said while the news is not exactly new, it does add a new layer of weight to links between consumption of red meat and cancer. The group claims meat is responsible for 21 per cent of bowl cancers and 3 per cent of all cancers. This is compared to smoking which causes 86 per cent of lung cancers and 19 per cent of all cancers.