The lower classification for red meat reflected “limited evidence” that it caused cancer and though the IARC found links mainly with bowel cancer, as was the case for processed meat, but it also observed associations with pancreatic and prostate cancer.
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“Overall, the Working Group classified consumption of processed meat as “carcinogenic to humans” on the basis of sufficient evidence for colorectal cancer”, the report reads.
However, the report concluded that 50g of processed meat – roughly 2 slices of bacon a day- raises your risk of colorectal cancer by 18%.
Processed meat in this context is defined as meat products produced through “salting, curing, fermentation and smoking”.
World Health Organization experts also called red meat, including beef, lamb and pork, “probably” carcinogenic to humans.
Health experts said meats such as bacon and sausages – all crucial elements of a fry-up – are carcinogenic to humans, and eating them could lead to bowel cancer.
“At the same time, red meat has nutritional value”.
The current Irish Healthy eating guidelines say that meat is “an important source of protein, Iron and vitamins”.
In a statement, IARC said that in view of the large number of people who consume processed meat, their findings are a valid public health concern.
Sammader said the more processed meat a person eats, the higher the risk.
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In contrast, the chance of getting lung cancer in the United Kingdom increases from around one in 100 if you don’t smoke throughout your lifetime to more than 20 in 100 if you smoke a pack of cigarettes every day. But a million people a year die from smoking-related cancers.
The North American Meat Institute scoffed at the report, saying it ignored “numerous” studies showing no link between meat and cancer.
“With that being said, it is not that we are looking to cut animal foods out of the diet”.
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The agency added processed meat to the same category of cancer-causing agents as tobacco smoke and asbestos, but stressed this did not mean it was just as risky.
