"Bacon and ham sold in the UK should carry cigarette-style labels warning that chemicals in them cause bowel cancer, scientists say. Their demand comes as they criticise successive British governments for doing virtually nothing to reduce the risk from nitrites in the decade since they were found to definitely cause cancer. Saturday marks a decade since the World Health Organization in October 2015 declared processed meat to be carcinogenic to humans, putting it in the same category as tobacco and asbestos."
"Nitrites are chemicals that are added to bacon and ham during processing to cure and preserve them and give them their pink colour, despite gathering scientific evidence that they are harmful. Inaction to curb use of the compounds in the UK since the WHO's declaration has resulted in 54,000 Britons developing bowel cancer, which has cost the NHS 3bn, experts claim."
Bacon and ham in Britain commonly contain nitrites, chemicals added to cure, preserve and colour the meat, and nitrite-cured processed meat was classified as carcinogenic by WHO in October 2015. Nitrites have been linked to bowel cancer, and experts estimate inaction since the WHO declaration has contributed to 54,000 cases in the UK and imposed about £3bn in costs on the NHS. An estimated 90–95% of bacon and ham packets contain nitrites. Four IARC scientists and other experts have urged the health secretary to mandate cigarette-style warning labels and to phase out nitrites from processed meat production.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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