According the IARC, processed meat – which includes meat that’s undergone any form of curing, salting, smoking or preserving – is a “definite carcinogen” and falls into group 1, a group into which tobacco and alcohol also fall.
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It’s based on “sufficient evidence in humans that the consumption of processed meat causes colorectal cancer”.
The panel considered animal experiments, studies of human diet and health, and cell processes that can provide an explanation for how red meat can cause cancer.
Millions of headlines, based on a World Health Organization report, screamed: “Processed meats cause cancer”.
The report went on to add that for every 50 grams of meat eaten on a daily basis, the population-wide risk of developing colon cancer was 18% higher, said the agency. When they looked at studies with the consumption of processed meats, that those would definitely be carcinogenic. They link cancer to those meats putting a few of the most prized meals and meat snacks on the butcher block.
Red meat, however, is on a separate list along with an active compound in many weedkillers.
The IARC Head went on to say the working group for this evaluation defined red as all muscle meat from mammals, such as beef, veal, pork, goat, lamb and the like.
Nor does it support people eating only poultry and fish, as the cancer risks associated with the consumption of poultry and fish were not evaluated by the WHO.
The Israel Cancer Association has warned many times in recent years about the risk of cancer from processed meat and grilling any meat at high temperatures.
“Just because they’re in the same category doesn’t mean they have the same level of risk factor”, says Essentia Clinical Dietitian Amy Hieb.
The North American Meat Institute is calling the report “dramatic and alarmist” and argues that cancer is a complex disease “not caused by single foods”.
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The findings also demonstrate that the rise in risk is also dependent on the amount of meat you eat: the occasional treat is hardly going to make a difference.
