WHO: Bacon, Processed Meats Linked To Cancer

The World Health Organization announced research findings that processed meats cause cancer, while red meats might also cause cancer.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer reported the findings after evaluating the cancer-causing effects of eating red meats and processed meat over a period of time.

The researchers, 22 experts from 10 different countries, have found that red meat is “probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A),” although based on limited evidence. Processed meat, however, was found to be “carcinogenic to humans (Group 1),” based on sufficient evidence.

The researchers defined red meat as “all types of mammalian muscle meat, such as beef, veal, pork, lamb, mutton, horse, and goat.”

Processed meat, on the other hand, “refers to meat that has been transformed through salting, curing, fermentation, smoking, or other processes to enhance flavor or improve preservation.”

Processed meats are a common find, including hotdogs, ham, sausages, corned beef, bacon, and beef jerky. It also includes canned meats and meat-based sauces. These may contain beef or pork, but may also possess other red meats, poultry, offal, or by-products such as blood.

According to BBC, the WHO report said that eating as little as 50g of processed meat a day increased the chances of developing colorectal cancer by 18 percent. And that's just for two slices of bacon.

Although this may be so, the WHO said that eating red meat still has its own benefits, and added that even though the carcinogenic effect of red and processed meat consumption is relatively small, the risk increases as the amount consumed increases as well.

“For an individual, the risk of developing colorectal cancer because of their consumption of processed meat remains small, but this risk increases with the amount of meat consumed,” says Dr Kurt Straif from the WHO.

And although the findings say that eating such meat poses cancer risks, banning individuals from eating red or processed meats is not what the WHO meant. Instead of stopping people from eating bacon or sausages altogether, limiting meat intake is the key.

”These findings further support current public health recommendations to limit intake of meat,” Dr. Christopher Wild, Director of the IARC, said. “At the same time, red meat has nutritional value.”

“I think certainly that we should be keeping a low level, so everything in moderation,” Dr. Jill Jenkins, a GP and member of the Meat Advisory Panel, told the Today programme on BBC Radio 4, as per The Guardian.