Bacon, burgers and sausages DO cause cancer says World Health Organisation

Global health chiefs on Monday warned that Bacon, burgers and sausages are as big a cancer threat as cigarettes.

A new World Health Organization report released today, classified processed meat as carcinogenic alongside arsenic and asbestos.

Officials said just 50g of processed meat a day – less than one sausage – increases the risk of bowel cancer by almost a fifth. The report also classified red meat as ‘probably carcinogenic’ – one rank below – but added that it had some nutritional benefits.

Experts are now urging the public to avoid processed meat where possible and to have a bean salad for lunch rather than a BLT.

Dr Kurt Straif from the WHO said: ‘For an individual, the risk of developing colorectal (bowel) cancer because of their consumption of processed meat remains small, but this risk increases with the amount of meat consumed.’

Red meat does have nutritional value too and is a major source of protein, iron, zinc and vitamin B12 which protect the immune system.

But Professor Tim Key, Cancer Research UK's epidemiologist at the University of Oxford, said: ‘We've known for some time about the probable link between red and processed meat and bowel cancer, which is backed by substantial evidence.

‘This decision doesn't mean you need to stop eating any red and processed meat. But if you eat lots of it you may want to think about cutting down.  You could try having fish for your dinner rather than sausages, or choosing to have a bean salad for lunch over a BLT. Eating a bacon bap every once in a while isn't going to do much harm - having a healthy diet is all about moderation.’

Processed meat describes anything that has had chemicals added to it to help preserve it such as ham, salami and chorizo. It does not include most mince from butchers and supermarkets but sausages and burgers count unless they are home made.

Government guidelines introduced in 2011 recommend that adults eat no more than 70g of red or processed meat each day. This is equivalent to one small sausage or two rashers of bacon a day or one lamb chop every other day.

But this is too high, according to the WHO’s announcement today and the Government may now revise it down.

Dr Rachel Thompson, head of research interpretation at the World Cancer Research Fund UK said: ‘If people can avoid it, (processed meat) they should.

‘It’s better to get what you need from fresh red meat. Processed meat contains more salt and fat and there is likely to be a higher cancer risk from the actual processing. We think it better that people eat fresh red meat because it’s much better nutritionally and to limit processed red meat as much as possible.'