Hot Dogs, Bacon, Other Processed Meat Increase Cancer Risks: WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a new report this week, warning that consumers face an increased risk of cancer from eating processed meats, and indicating that red meat may also be carcinogenic. 

The warning comes after a panel of 22 experts from 10 countries reviewed data from more than 800 studies investigating the association of more than a dozen types of cancer and different diets around the world.

In a report (PDF) issued by the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) on October 26, processed meats were classified as carcinogenic to humans based on “sufficient evidence.” Raising concerns about the consumption of popular products like bacon, ham, hot dogs, sausages and canned meat.

Research suggests that eating 50 grams of processed meat daily may increase the risk of colorectal cancer by 18 percent. The report states that the most influential evidence came from large prospective cohort studies conducted over the past 20 years.

Classifying processed meat as carcinogenic places it in the same class as smoking and asbestos; two consumer products that were previously believed to be safe, but which are now widely known to cause cancer. Consumption of red meats, such as beef, veal, pork, lamb, mutton and goat, have been classified as probably carcinogenic to humans, indicating that there is strong evidence to suggest they may increase the risk of cancer.

The WHO says 34,000 cancer deaths worldwide can be attributed to processed meat. This is only a fraction of the more than 8 million cancer deaths in 2012.

“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,” said Dr. Kurt Straif, Head of the IARC Monographs Programme. “In view of the large number of people who consume processed meat, the global impact on cancer incidence is of public health importance.

Consumption of red meat and processed meat varies between countries; some as little as a few percentage of people consume the meats while others up to 100 percent consume red meat within the country.

The IARC defined processed meat as meat that has been transformed by salting, curing, fermentation, smoking, or other processes to enhance flavor or preserve the meat.

The meat industry has responded to the WHO report, arguing that the findings are biased and misleading to the public, maintaining that red meats and processed meats are not dangerous.

The WHO report cautioned that red meat still has “nutritional value” when part of a balanced diet.

”These findings further support current public health recommendations to limit intake of meat,” said Dr. Christopher Wild, Director of IARC. “These results are important in enabling governments and international regulatory agencies to conduct risk assessments, in order to balance the risks and benefits of eating red meat and processed meat and to provide the best possible