WHO’s report is in line with the worldwide Agency for Research on Cancer which ruled that a processed meat is a Group 1 carcinogen, meaning cancer-causing.
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Processed meat can be described as meat that has been preserved or enhanced by flavors using fermentation, salting, curing, smoking, etc. Red meat, which includes lamb, beef and pork, has been classified in group 2A – a “probable” cause of cancer.
“Those carcinogens, those chemicals change the genes that we have and can cause us to lose our protection against cancer”, Dr. Reatha Williams of Women’s and Children’s hospital said.
This week, the World Health Organization’s global Agency of Research on Cancer announced a direct link between processed meat products and cancer, particularly colon cancer.
However, in a point that has not received as much attention, the research noted that the issues only relate to long-term, consistent eating of processed meat and, as such, can be addressed with a few small moderations to a person’s diet.
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.
That’s more than five slices of bacon, and IARC said you’d have to eat that much every day for your whole life – a qualification lost in a few of the headlines and news coverage.
He said the study was based on Western processed meat, and he believed the cancer risk would still differ between different types of processed meats.
The researcher team, made up of 22 scientists, concluded that processed meats are in the same category as tobacco smoking and asbestos in terms of being a cancer risk. Findings were based on “limited evidence” in the conclusion for red meat and “sufficient evidence” for processed meat.
Australia, one of the world’s top meat exporters, rejected on Tuesday the suggestion that processed meat could be as lethal as cigarettes, referring to the IARC report.
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“The risk increases with the amount consumed”, Susan Gastpur of the American Cancer Society said according to the Washington Post.
