Processed meats cause cancer according to World Health Organization

However, the report concluded that 50g of processed meat – roughly 2 slices of bacon a day- raises your risk of colorectal cancer by 18%.

The World Health Organization researchers defined processed meat as anything transformed to improve its flavor or to preserve it, including sausages, canned meat, beef jerky, and smoked meat.

Different substances can occur during processing of meat, as well as when cooking or roasting, which cause cancer or are suspected to do – about known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) or heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAA).

“We’re not saying you can’t have red meat in your diet”.

They noted that red meat contains important nutrients but said it was associated with a few cancers in several studies.

“It’s how much intake and how much over time there’s going to be”, said Dr. Arun Swaminath, a gastroenterologist.

There is no need to panic over links between processed meat and getting cancer, the Department of Health warned today.

This association was observed mainly for colorectal cancer, but associations were also seen for pancreatic cancer and prostate cancer, the World Health Organization report found.

It does not mean that processed meat, smoking and asbestos are all equally risky, as classifications describe the strength of the scientific evidence about an agent being a cause of cancer, rather than assessing the level of risk.

Germany is a key meat producing nation, generating 8.8 million tonnes in 2013, including more than 5.0 million tonnes of pork and 1.4 million tonnes of poultry.

When you read that red and processed meats have the potential to cause cancer in humans, your first thought might have been about your health.

It also says there is “strong evidence” that processed meats – even in smaller quantities – increase cancer risk.

“Remember a few years ago we were told butter was bad for you – and butter sales collapsed, milk prices then collapsed – and now they tell us butter is good for us”. In addition, wine, coffee or working the night shift is a risky as eating red meat, category 2.

The study fired up the meat industry, it calls the report “dramatic and alarmist” and argues that cancer is a complex disease “not caused by single foods”.