Bacon, sausages and ham do cause cancer, WHO confirms

Processed meats such as bacon, sausages and ham can cause cancer in humans, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has concluded for the first time.

Global health experts at the International Agency for Research on Cancer have classed processed meats as carcinogens, placing them in the same category as tobacco, alcohol and asbestos.

However, the organisation does not compare the level of risk associated with each product in a category – meaning a chunk of chorizo is not as bad for a person's health as a cigarette.

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"The risk of developing bowel cancer because of their consumption of processed meat remains small, but this risk increases with the amount of meat consumed," said the WHO's Dr Kurt Straif.

The report warns that consuming just 50g of processed meat a day is enough to raise a person's risk of developing bowel cancer by 18 per cent. A typical fry-up containing two rashers of bacon and two sausages makes up almost three times that amount, at 130g, according to the [1] Daily Telegraph.

Red meat, which has been linked to pancreatic and prostate cancer, was labelled "probably carcinogenic" and placed in a lower category than processed meat due to limited evidence.

Cancer charities have welcomed the report but it is being fiercely contested by members of the meat industry who attended the meeting, [2] The Guardian reports.

"It was clear that many of the panellists were aiming for a specific result despite old, weak, inconsistent, self-reported intake data," said the North American Meat Institute.

Cancer Research UK said it supported the WHO's classification, which was based on decades of research. "We’ve known for some time about the probable link between red and processed meat and bowel cancer, which is backed by substantial evidence," said Professor Tim Key.

But he said the findings did not mean that people needed to stop eating red and processed meat altogether. "Eating a bacon bap every once in a while isn't going to do much harm – having a healthy diet is all about moderation."

Robert Pickard, a member of the Meat Advisory Panel and emeritus professor of neurobiology at the University of Cardiff, suggested there were more significant ways people could cut their cancer risk.

"The top priorities for cancer prevention remain smoking cessation, maintenance of normal body weight and avoidance of high alcohol intakes," he said.