“In view of the large number of people who consume processed meat, the global impact on cancer incidence is of public health importance”, Straif said.
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The classifications are carried out by the WHO’s global Agency for Research on Cancer.
After a thorough review of the literature, the worldwide Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified the consumption of red meat as probably carcinogenic to humans, an association observed mainly for colorectal cancer, but also pancreatic cancer and prostate cancer.
The IARC group considered more than 800 studies that investigated associations of more than a dozen types of cancer with the consumption of red meat or processed meat in many countries and populations with diverse diets.
The report is one of the most aggressive stands against red meat ever to be taken by a major health organization.
Meat industry groups protest the classification, arguing that cancer is not caused by specific foods but by several factors.
The conclusion puts processed meats in the same category of cancer risk as tobacco smoking and asbestos.
The WHO’s cancer research unit now classifies processed meat as “carcinogenic to humans” based on evidence from hundreds of studies, and linked it specifically to colon, or colorectal, cancer.
This is done by methods such as curing, smoking or adding salt or preservatives. Products such as hot dogs, ham, sausages, corned beef, biltong and beef jerky are included.
Overall, the lifetime risk of developing colorectal cancer is about 1 in 20, or about 5 percent, according to the cancer society.
Responding to the IARC report in a statement, Professor Tim Key, Cancer Research UK’s epidemiologist at the University of Oxford, says: “We’ve known for a few time about the probable link between red and processed meat and bowel cancer, which is backed by substantial evidence”.
Most processed meat contains pork or beef, but also can include other red meats, poultry, as well as organs or blood.
IARC director Christopher Wild said the findings support current public health recommendations to limit intake of meat, but stressed that red meat has nutritional value.
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The North American Meat Institute said that the cancer condemnation “defies both common sense and numerous studies showing no correlation between meat and cancer”.
