Australia’s Minister for Agriculture Barnaby Joyce on Tuesday slammed a World Health Organization (WHO) report which said bacon, sausages and other processed meats were carcinogenic to humans.
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Based on that evaluation, the IARC has classified processed meat as “carcinogenic to humans”, and specially noted an association specifically to colon cancer.
According to the report, which did not categorically mention Suya or Kilishi, stated that 50g of processed meat a day increases the chance of developing colorectal cancer by 18%.
The IARC included beef, lamb and pork under red meat and classified as a “probable” carcinogen in its group 2A list that also contained glyphosate, the active ingredient in many weedkillers. Examples of processed meat include bacon, hot dogs, hams, sausages, corned beef, beef jerky, canned meat and meat-based sauces.
Clinical dietician Kristi King of Texas Children’s Hospital agrees that meat alone won’t cause cancer.
Around 34,000 cancer deaths a year could be down to eating processed meats.
Meanwhile, the North American Meat Institute (NAMI) said that classifying red and processed meat as cancer “hazards” defies common sense, and numerous studies show there is no correlation between meat and cancer. Eating bacon and salami isn’t as bad as puffing away on cigarettes.
The IARC’s mission is to coordinate and conduct research on the causes of human cancer, the mechanisms of carcinogenesis, and to develop scientific strategies for cancer control.
Researchers believe that while the meat is being processed, something causes the build up of carcinogenic chemicals, including N-nitroso-compounds (NOC) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in the food.
Dr Christopher Wild, director of IARC, said: “These findings further support current public health recommendations to limit intake of meat”.
The experts assessed more than 800 studies across countries with diverse diets and studied populations that consume red meat and associated it with different type of cancers.
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“It provides a lot of vitamins and minerals, especially minerals like iron and zinc so it is a component of the diet that does provide a lot of nutritional value”, Stewart said.
