Scientists are calling for cigarette-style cancer warnings on packets of bacon and ham sold in the UK, saying chemicals used to cure the meat pose a serious risk to public health.
Their demand comes a decade after the World Health Organization (WHO) classified processed meat as carcinogenic to humans, in the same category as tobacco and asbestos. The experts accuse successive governments of doing “virtually nothing” to protect consumers from nitrites, which are added to bacon and ham to preserve colour and flavour but can form cancer-causing nitrosamines in the body.
Researchers estimate that inaction since 2015 has led to 54,000 cases of bowel cancer in the UK, costing the NHS £3bn. In a letter to Health Secretary Wes Streeting, the scientists – including members of the WHO team that issued the original warning – urged the government to make warning labels mandatory and to phase out nitrites from processed meats.
“Most people don’t realise that nitrite-cured meats are in the same carcinogenic category as tobacco and asbestos,” said Prof Denis Corpet of Toulouse University. “Ministers have a duty to act.”
The World Cancer Research Fund confirmed there is “clear evidence” linking processed meat to bowel cancer but stopped short of supporting labels, instead urging stronger dietary guidelines and reduced availability of processed meat in public institutions.
Prof Chris Elliott, a food safety expert and one of the letter’s signatories, said the government’s inaction was costing lives. “Every year of delay means more preventable cancers and greater strain on the NHS,” he said.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson responded that the Food Standards Agency still considers the link between nitrites and cancer “inconclusive.”
