Processed meat and cancer – what you need to know

I lost my husband to pancreatic cancer last year. He was a smoker and also ate bacon, sausages and processed ham. I’ve thought for a long time that these foods were like ‘plastic’ and don’t eat any of them. I prefer to have proper meat and cook it from there. So it looks like I was correct in my thinking. I also worry about heated plastics which some of our takeaway food is heated in and the use of cling film over our food.

I would love to hear more about the research being done into the microbiome and the cancer risks from red or processed meat. I read the study that you link to here and I have seen other studies, but I wondered if you have an article with an overview into this? That would be amazing.

You don’t want bowel cancer, it’s a hell on earth existence. You just die a long painful death. It’s not fast like a heart attack.

So what they’re telling us is we can only eat peanut butter?

Breakfast no sauasage no bacon don’t sell meat if it will cause cancer

Cancer that one

This is my opinion your so wrong what veggies gonna cause cancer

Your wrong meat dosent cause cancer you want me to fill my feezer with only ham chicken and Turkey yay right

The cancer has various types like mouth cancer, blood cancer and lung cancer. Smoking cigarette is the big reason behind mouth cancer and lung cancer. Smoking affects our mouth as well as lungs.

I’d rather enjoy delicious meats and die early than live my life as a vegetarian or a vegan. But that’s just me.

Cigarette smoking is responsible for nearly 90% of all lung cancer cases identified and diagnosed. Lung cancer isn’t the one health complication you need to be concerned if you are a smoker. There are more than a handful of other related diseases that are triggered and it’s all a matter of time before it starts to take a toll on the body. So its better to keep yourself away from smoking as much as possible. Thanks for the blog and sharing the causes of cancer with us.

Interesting. How about not using nitrate in curing, just using regular pickling salt? Also this analysis does not reflect that chicken, all poultry and eastern, Atlantic salmon and wild trout have some of the highest Inflammation Index amongst food. Not everyone suffers from cancer, but a lot more of us suffer from multiple forms of inflammations like arthritis, most chronic problems, allergies, digestion Issues, etc etc…. Documentation? read Dr. Chilton’s research on food caused Inflammation.
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Reaching adulthood I have always been of the opinion that meat is bad for you, and do not eat it. I eat lots of bean sprouts, veg and fruit, nuts and seeds. After all you are eating rotting animal corpses.

Excellent! The best page I found until now on this subject.

Thank you very much indeed

this really scary and to think i love to eat bacon and other meat

This is true unfortunately. Nowadays there is no health food expect vegies (from small local market), where people doesn’t have money to buy pesticides.

The article is not direct to the point. Hs making the article long…

The author of this article has excluded some information from IARC or WHO or whoever actually does the research. This is just someone regurgitating facts. Someone with a huge biased against smoking. It would be interesting to see the damage of One cigarette per day versus a 250+/- gram meat intake per day. You can’t spout off about moderation but only when it fits your argument. Point is, it makes your argument less credible when you aren’t acting like a professional. The whole part about there only being 10 less deaths from people eating the least amount of meats. Give your head a shake. Compare those numbers to vegans before this can ever become a worthy statistic. I’ll borrow some of the authors logic: its like saying there’s only 10 less deaths among people Who only smoke 15 cigarettes a day, compared to those Who smoke 20. Get it?

Hi, I was just wondering why you have disabled the comments on your most popular thread “10 Cancer Myths Debunked”?

all you guys who are embarased for reduced diet are “stupid“ u england people and america eat so much meet and u are over half people very fat, this is very wrong and dangerous, if u reduced the meet in your meel is healty for you! sry for my english!

Absolute eye opener,”Save the Mankind”

you seem to be trivializing cancer risk and diet! shame on you guys!!!!

If that’s what research has proven so we limit the consumption of meat or total avoidance. What does it have to do with age

It says processed meats cause cancer, but it doesn’t show pictures of processed white meat (chicken, turkey). Why doesn’t the research limit its claim to say “processed red meats cause cancer” OR specify the difference in cancer probability between processed white meats and processed red meats? This is surprisingly “sloppy” notification from the WHO. Say what you mean, WHO!

It is very good in explanation of cause for cancer ,and how to avoide it by reducing or cancel the processed meat and red meat .

Having read the article it has given me more of an insight into the subject and made me rethink my eating habits which cannot be a bad thing.

An excellent article that clarifies the information by removing the hysteria and hype generated around it by the media. Thankyou.

Why no mention that the salicylates ( Aspirin ) , vitamin C and other nutrients in organic vegetables largely reverses these risks from nitrosamines?? But there isn’t much salicylate in non-organically produced vegetables, so probably wise to take low-dose aspirin supplement daily.
And in the case of barbequed food, just turn the food frequently to allow cooking but limit charing also reduces the risks. Similar risks also present in all baked or toasted carbs.

VERY clearly explained. I liked the ‘little people’ illustration.

Written in wonderful simple easy to understand English. Thank you

Excellent information saying not to panic but cut down on some meats.

Excellent article – explained everything clearly including the stats behind the risks.

I still find it confusing. Why are sausages seen as processed, but burgers are not? Surely it just depends how each one is made?

“fresh chicken or turkey, and fish (neither of which appear to increase your risk of cancer)” Not according to The China Study and the associated documentary Forks over Knives.

I would have liked to know what the research says about ‘processed’ fish. eg Salmon, Kippers, Haddock, Cod etc.

Good info, well presented

I found this a really clear and helpful article to clarify the shock/horror headlines. Thank you – great to read things in plain English

Excellent article

I understood that haem iron reacts with peroxides formed from polyunsaturated vegetable oils during cooking, forming radicals and – ultimately – cytotoxic carbonyls. For this reason, I always advise against eating red meat with food fried in vegetable oils. The formation of nitrosamines is a separate mechanism, occurring primarily in meats to which nitrites have been added (i.e. processed meats). The case against eating processed meats is far stronger than that against red meats.

I just wonder, why is smoking *always* bad for you? Why isn’t it OK to smoke – say – one cigarette a day, just like it would be fine to eat red meat only a week?

Very informative and easily understood by the non- scientific reader. However a bit patronising and cagey in its conclusions.

Excellent, but a little concerned about an alternative sandwich filling being tuna! From much of the info. available on fish and fish products there is an issue with heavy metals and plastics in the food chain. So keeping consumption of fish on the low side may also be useful.
Anything wrong with cheese? – apart from cholesterol.

Hmm I think that meat consumption itself doesn’t cause cancer. The lifestyles of the people that eat lots of fry ups and burgers etc and generally don’t look after themselves is the cause. To start scare mungering like this is unforgivable. Quick let’s all give more money to researchers so they can tell us the obvious.

Thanks, this info is really clear and helpful.

A very helpful article But I’m still confused about sausages! There is a massive difference between frankfurters, salami, chorizo and that kind of sausage when compared to fresh traditional English style sausages from a good butcher made from fresh meat with no artificial flavours or preservatives or even good quality supermarket sausages. How can they be compared with sausages made from cured or smoked meats? The meat in butchers’ sausages is simply finely minced just as in fresh burgers or mince which you do not classify as “processed”

i wish Headliners would not produce scares, it does not help any producer or eater. all things in moderation, My steak eating is around two a month, and certainly I am not a daily cooked breakfast eater, possible twice a week. Researchers shoule modify their findings.

Excellent. It provides a readily understandable balanced view and provides practical guidance to improve your diet and reduce the risk of bowel cancer

Thank you for sending me this information,I will pass it on to as many friends and family
I will tell them to pass it on to there friends and family,

A really helpful article that gives clear facts and guidelines. I shall endeavour to pass it on to friends and family who are still confused by the recent reports. Thank you very much indeed. Pam.

Great article, thank you! It would be really helpful to know if processed fish are also considered carcinogenic. For example smoked haddock / tinned tuna etc as my simple mind would say there are probably similar preservation processes involved…

A very clear and helpful article. Thanks

Informative and sensibly written article. Thank you

Very useful information and practical tips. Thank you

Very informative and useful, there needs to be more of this sensible approach about eating, not just headlines, as these turn people off ,just another scare headline

What a comprehensive, understandable article. Really informative.

it was very helpful and informative

What a shame so many people will not get to read this and still panic. My niece has given up sausages and bacon ( she’s 9 ) The media coverage scared her not informed her to make the choice. Hopefully explaining this article to her will help her understand.

Interesting about fish…. but what about processed fish like smoked salmon and smoked mackerel? Are they not affected? What about smoked cheese?. I’d like to see more about the processing bit and how to be clear what meat is processed…. like gammon joints.

Thank you for this article. It was really clear and well explained.

the figures for lung cancer and colon cancer seem wrong to me: in fact, if no-one smoked, you would have a 16% reduction in total cancer burden, while if no-one ate any processed or red meat such reduction would be only 0.6%. The ratio between 16 and 0.6 is 27, while the ratio between your two final figures (64.500 and 8.800) is only 7.

very interesting article and very well explained thankyou.

Thank you. A very sensible and well explained presentationof the evidence and equally sensible recommendations

very revealing thank you

Excellent and balanced information

Great article easy to understand very informative, thank you.

Awesome infographics and information. Enjoyed reading this thoroughly.

Have a bacon butty possibly once a month. Only eat red meat twice a week. Don’t do processed meat much at all. Eat more than average fruit and veg…still got bowel cancer.

very informative.

Very informative without being too hard to understand or take in thank you.

What about fatty foods such as chips, cheese and chocolate? What cancer risk do they have?

Does this mean that the government is now going to tax red and processed meat higher to stop us eating them? (Instead of getting at the food companies to stop messing about with the food.)

Is offal such as liver, kidney, heart etc classed as red meat here?

“healthy living is all about moderation”. Sums it up perfectly, forget all the doom mongers and the fadists, use your brains and be moderate in your diet.

Very interesting article,certainly try to continue eating healthy and maintain exercising. I do have some treats through out the year!

My rule I direct myself after sounds according Paracelsus: ” … there are in the Nature no medicine and no poisons but only doses”.

The inclusion of spaghetti bolognese in the illustration isn’t confusing when you see that the title of the illustration is including red meat. So that is there purely to include some red meat, in this case beef, not processed.

I have recently started to read this website, I am a health professional and thought the article was very clear, thought provoking without raising too much anxiety. Informative without dumbing down.

Excellent article but earlier in the text you say mince isn’t classed as a processed meat but later in the graphic you include spaghetti bolognese – which is a bit confusing!

Amazing. Thank you. It’s hard to know what’s behind the headlines, and what a statistic like 17%increase means without the ancillary data. Increasing information helps us all live a healthier life

I think u are trying to be God, l’m now getting to the point, there’s nothing u won’t leave alone, as l’m hope to get to remission next ?year as l had lung cancer so enough is enough !!!!!

This is a most helpful article – last week’s newspapers were hysterical on this piece of news (which was pretty well known for many years in any event) and a calm recitation of the facts is very welcome. Of course it makes sense not to eat too much red and/or processes meat but it is good to have advice based on common sense not hyperbole.

Why are Pork Chops for instance classed as Red Meat. They are not Red in colour and taste so good when roasted

Clear unequivocal information, easily accessed

Thank you. Very sensible, non alarmist advice.

Interesting and well-explained article. Thank you for presenting the facts so that we can adjust our diet. What about home -cooked gammon/ ham?

As someone who hand makes sausages and bacon, the biggest problem is not the products themselves but the excessive amounts of nitrite based preservatives used by commercial producers to extend shelf life. Sausages have been made and consumed for thousands of years. It is the greed of the major commercial producers that is damaging health. If are concerned about the content of sausages get a mincer/sausage stuffer attachment for you mixer and have a go at making your own: It’s huge fun and very satisfying.

I think your articles and graphics are clearly and attractively presented. You seem to have the patience of saints and I don’t know how you better present all this information.

Good article, but I still have a question. You say chicken and fish are not included but what about smoked fish or barbequed chicken?

A wonderfully clear and balanced article. It is always a shame about headlines; this was very reassuring.

Excellent graphics. Puts the points across clearly.

The article is very useful. What I find annoying is that ingredients on the packaging are often numerous, and I find it hard to understand why so many ingredients are necessary. Added to this is the fact that lots of ingredients appear to be chemicals and a lot of ingredients mean absolutely nothing to me. Is it possible that some ingredients include things that are caused by the processing of the meat? – I ask myself. I am not aware of anything that is published for general public use, to explain all the terms that arise in this connection. I wonder whether it is only cancer that we should concern ourselves with in connection with red and processed meat.

Very interesting and well worth “digesting”

Excellent reading. So simple to follow thank you

Excellent reading. So simple to follow thank you for explaining in such detail

Excellent article. Very clear and concise

Loved the banana analogy! Very easy to read and understand, definitely calms me down after hearing all the horror stories about meat in the news

Bruce G hit the nail right on the head.
Really good article.

An excellent article and very thought provoking, except perhaps to smokers; if they thought about their health they would quit.

An excellent, clearly written and non-sensationalistic article.
Shame the media can’t report facts in the same way.
Keep up the good work!

It just goes to show you have to look ‘behind the headlines’ to get the truth. Isn’t it back to everything in moderation? Thanks for a great article.

Brilliant article, absolutely brilliant – very clear and precise. Thanks you very much!

Understandably smoking is always the bad guy but what about e-cigarettes? Is there any risk with inhaling vaporized nicotine?

Very good

This is really helpful and has explained it all much better than the frightening stories that the media were putting out! I don’t eat much red meat anyway, once possibly twice a wk max so hopefully I’m doing the right thing.

Excellent article – clearly presented and easy to assimilate.

Interesting to have this put in context. Sensible, understandable advice.

Very informative and interesting. Your diagrams are very helpful in showing just how processed and red meat can be bad for you.

Very interesting. Thank you for the information. Certainly very helpful.

Really helpful analysis! It removes the tendency to think that the findings on red & processed meats are just another scare story which could be reversed later eg. butter is bad, then butter is better than low fat spreads. It’s a real help to read a balanced and sensible approach to diet, and to help make the figures clearer for the lay person.

Interesting stuff. I will eat less red meat

I have found this very useful. I have already cut down a lot on red meat and rarely eat processed meat , except on holiday as a treat! so I may be on the right track anyway.

Thank you! Statistics were explained properly and it was a genuinely useful article. Although I don’t think my intake is very high anyway I’ll bear it in mind from now on when planning my meals!

Extremely helpful and balanced information.

Very interesting & informative

Very helpful and well explained article which gives facts without the the sensationalism of the media articles.

Saying “substitue Ham for Chicken or Tuna” means eat Ham instead of Chicken or Tuna, you probably meant to say the reverse. Words are important, and so is grammar if you don’t want to confuse people.

Very helpful and interesting

Very interesting and helpful

What about smoked salmon, mackerel, herring, other fish?

An interesting, well written article, thank you.
As I read it, the lowest risk of developing bowel cancer is 56/1000 people in those who eat the lowest amount of meat (but what about vegetarians, or are they included in this group?).
The average risk for all people (eating however much meat) is that 61/1000 develop bowel cancer.
If eating the highest amount of red meat adds on 17% more risk of getting bowel cancer, compared to the lowest meat eating group, then an extra 17% of the lowest group 56/1000 get cancer = 1.17 x 56 = 66 rounded up.

So moving to a high meat diet means:
a) 10 extra people get bowel cancer compared to the lowest meat eating group, i.e. 56 to 66 people/1000
This is an extra 10 out of a 1000 people, i.e. 1%, compared to the 3% risk in 2011, and not as dramatic as 17% sounds.
b) 5 extra people get bowel cancer compared to the average risk, i.e. 61 to 66/1000 people. This is 5 extra people in a thousand, which is an increase of 0.5% people.

Using natural frequencies is better, the range of bowel cancer rates in low and high meat eating groups is from 56 to 66 out of a 1000 people. The headline would be: “Eating the highest amount of red and processed meat, increases the risk of bowel cancer in an extra 10 out of a thousand people.”

This is an excellent explanation of the science behind the classification and goes a very long way to give clear and balanced advice for a healthier lifestyle , which is far from the media sensationalist and frightening reporting of the findings.

wow , eat a balanced diet. Really ground breaking stuff.

That last comment meant to say “natural” not “beaches” autocorrect!

This is not healthy. Future reading needs to be done. There has been multiple studies done to show how unhealthy meat. We shouldn’t be eating any meat or dairy in our diet. It’s not beaches say, it doesn’t belong there. Our limit for cholesterol is 0mg a day. All meat and dairy contains more than that. Please do some research before attempting to call me out on this. I’m not saying it to preach I’m saying it because I care about people and I don’t want them to get sick. Meat is bad for you. You can get all your nutrients off plant-based sources and they are still satisfying and they taste great. If people have sensible, respectful questions then I’d be happy to answer. Read the China study for a start there’s some great documentaries on YouTube too. Much love.

I think this is a very interesting report. Headlines in newspapers are scary and people tell others and it gets out of proportion. Thank you for this scientific report to clarify the situation.

Why the dismissive reference to tofu? Maybe better to extol its virtues in its many and flavoursome guises rather than use it as a threat to people’s diets.

Very interesting findings and good to have a Prof put it into context with the banana skin analogy. Would like to know if this also includes liver (perhaps as a Group 2 meat item) as it is high in haem which of course gives it the benefit of being Iron rich and is often recommended for people with iron deficiencies – should this advice be adjusted?

Does “processed meat” include also white processed meat or is it only red processed meat?

Very useful information and very much appreciated.

This is a most wonderfully clear and balanced explanation, serious without being over alarming and te graphics are really helpful. I will be passing this on to my grown up children..

Surely the 100g of minced beef is not in the same “harmful” league as the processed bacon, sausages and ham – but seems to count equally in the 70g daily advised limit.
As the curing process is likely to be the problem in meats, how does this affect say smoked fish?

As you say, this message is nothing new. It was back in the 80s I think that I first heard about nitrites in cured meats and food processes such as smoking being a possible cause of cancer. But, it’s just hit the headlines and the differentiation between “cause” and “risk” has of course been blurred. An excellent blog that I’ll keep and forward on. Well done.

Thank you for this, it has really helped get the risk into a sensible perspective. I’m still not sure about sliced chicken and turkey that you buy in deli section of the supermarket – another article I read implied that this may have been treated similarly and therefore may also pose a risk. Can you clarify?

Very informative, well illustrated. Measured advice – cannot be thought to be scaremongering.

I liked and understood the analogy of the banana skin and the illustrations were very illuminating. I also thought that the portion illustration was very effective and I will be following it.

Very useful information and well written. This has certainly clarified a lot of the issues around meat consumption. Thanks for presenting it so clearly.

What about ham that are sliced on the spot, those we got from the ham counter; and not those pre-packed ones? Does it still cause bowel cancer? Are the risks still the same?

Excellent article. Found it very informative.

A very well-produced summary and much more balanced than much of the mainstream media coverage.
It is important to remember that we are born, we live and we die. The key is to have a good life and, with luck, a good death.
Too many people focus on the length of our lives, rather than the quality of life we live.

Great – a balanced and rational view makes a nice change from the usual media sensationalism! Just waiting patiently now for the vegan evangelists to invade this post with their quasi-religious approach as per…

If eating red meat is dangerous what does someone (like myself) do when they are allergic to vegetables and a lot of fruit? Eat pills?

thanks for this, I enjoyed reading some expert analysis, rather than the confusion in the newspapers. One query i have in all of this – what is the impact of smoked fish and turkey on the incidence of cancers? is the meat the issue or the smoking process?

I believe meat is a big factor in cancer. any processed meats to.

Chicken? What about Chicken Sausages…also processed meat… but white…

The problem may lie in the animal feed as well as in the post production plastic packaging maybe stop spaying the crops with pesticides It seems that no matter what we eat now ends up giving us cancer of some sort remember joe jackson song everything give s you cancer

http://www.wired.com/2015/10/who-does-bacon-cause-cancer-sort-of-but-not-really/

I think we should all enjoy the one life we have – If I listened to every piece of health advice I would never go anywhere, eat anything or enjoy life in anyway, shape or form…
So, I am going to have a bacon sandwich, glass of wine, burger, can of coke, steak or large double G&T whenever I feel like – and you know why…
Because I understand moderation….

Thanks for a helpful article.

If “haem” is possibly implicated in the process, is there any evidence that might indicate a reduced risk on the part of red meat eaters when such meat has had the blood removed from it (as far as is practicable, e.g. by the Jewish melihah method of slaughter and preparation)?

You say , “All we can say is that on the whole, the risk is lower the less (meat) you eat.” Then go on to say , eat in moderation. So we should assume those people will get extra cancer risk in moderation. Enabler.

So smoking and processed/red meat cause 22% of all cancers…. So what causes the other 78%?

For Peter Hill below:

EPIC study:
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/11/63

Conclusions
The results of our analysis support a moderate positive association between processed meat consumption and mortality, in particular due to cardiovascular diseases, but also to cancer.
Keywords: diet; meat; mortality; cohort; Europe; cardiovascular; cancer

Hey just wanted to notify you… I tried to take the survey from the popup and it was broken. Should look into that.

But great article, I like how level headed its written instead of trying to blow everything out of proportion like soooo many others.

I’d like to have an ikon to share to facebook directly. Have to do by taking the url and entering.

Keep in mind that this is a correlation study. It did not even control for variable such as smoking and exercise. That`s right, a study about cancer did not take into consideration whether or not the individuals who ate meat smoked. Give me a break.

What about countries like Italy, Spain, Germany etc who consume a lot of processed meats?

Nice and clear apart from one point: you say it doesn’t include mince, then include mince in your ‘bad meat’ diagram (spaghetti bolognese)? It this all confusing to you too then?

Association does not prove causality. Then there is the meaty matter of confounding. The very large EPIC study (>455000 participants) that looked at red and processed meat in cancer and CVD found red meat ‘not guilty’ (after adjustment for error) and processed meat ‘guilty’…but only in current and ex-smokers. Perhaps the it’s the smoking and not the processed meat? Peter Hill, PhD

Loved this article, thanks so much for the entirety of it, and you are awesome. But. BUT. If you EVER suggest adding extra veggies or, god forbid, BEANS to a bolognese, I will cut you, ese.

China Study has been widely debunked as TCC selected results that supported his Theseus and ignored results that refuted it. This book went on to make TCC millions of dollars. When challenged on the fact he ignore opposing results his response was simply that “his reputation spoke for itself” and that as such he had no intention of answering for his omissions in the final text. In other words, he wrote a book to appeal to a vegan fad and made millions. THAT speaks for itself.

According to Dr. T. Colin Campbell, director of the most comprehensive study of health and nutrition ever conducted, the China Project, and professor emeritus of nutritional biochemistry at Cornell University, animal proteins are the prime carcinogen in meat and dairy products. He has found that “human studies also support this carcinogenic effect of animal protein, even at usual levels of consumption. … No chemical carcinogen is nearly so important in causing human cancer as animal protein.” Not surprisingly, two large studies of vegetarians in Germany and another in England found that vegetarians were about 40 percent less likely to develop cancer than their meat-eating counterparts.

Has this author never heard of the work of Drs. Esselstyn or Campbell on the question of whether meat is “good” for us? They’ve been trying to tell us this for decades but we’ve been too busy ruining both our health and the planet to listen.

“The evidence so far doesn’t point to a particular amount that’s, in terms of cancer risk, likely to be ‘too much’.” Dr. Campbell recommends less than 5% of one’s diet to be animal-based (not just meat). Check out any of his books…watch “Forks Over Knives”…it’s out there.

I wonder what the bowel cancer rates are in countries like Italy, Spain and Portugal where hams and processed meats abound?

With regards to the recent release of study results that show that an over abundance of red or processed meats in the diet might have a negative reaction on the human body, it is amazing that the World Health Organization should come to the same conclusion as any dietitian on any street corner, or in fact by the “fat Kid” in Jr. High. This is a waste of funds which I am sure can be better utilized elsewhere. Helping homeless puppies for example.

It is a shame that a formerly respected organization such as this should spend hard earned credibility in attempting to denigrate established family industries such as farming, with “warnings” that suggest that a lack of moderation in anything might have a negative impact on a low number of individuals. WHO, lending their name to scientific findings in the past has also lent a great deal of weight to the efforts of scientists throughout the world. Efforts of this nature, now make such judgments a joke!

@Henry Scowcroft

You highlight the problem with the IARC report (and this article). What exactly do the terms ‘processed meat’ and ‘sausage’ mean?

In much of the research, which underpins IARC’s analysis, processed meat refers to preserved meat (typically nitrite-salted) and ‘sausage’ refers ‘red sausage’ or specific sausage types such as salami.

However, some studies, such the Europe-wide EPIC project, classify processed meat as any transformed meat – including fresh sausages, meatballs, beef burgers (contrary to your article) and paté!

The IARC report includes research from both camps. I’m not sure how the IARC scientists dealt with this conflict in terms of evidence, but the IARC definition of processed meat definitely tends towards the first ‘preserved meat’ version.

Unhelpfully, the IARC definition also includes ‘sausages’, however, in most western countries (and on the International IARC committee too, I suspect) ‘sausage’ refers to red sausages, such as salami and frankfurters.

So I feel that my claim is valid – UK fresh meat sausages are not ‘processed meat’.

Well written, easy to understand, gives excellent advice.

Very clearly explained and understandable graphics. It would be nice to see more scientific issues explained so well.

Very helpful and sensible article.

I agree that any amount of processed meat, despite the flavor, is no good for you, and red meat in general, is not good, either. Sodium nitrate is a carcinogen, sodium nitrite I understand is 4 times as potent a carcinogen, and sodium erythrobate is also a risk. These would be problematic even if in white meats such as turkey or chicken, and I even try to avoid them in small amounts in smoked fish.

From the article: “None of this means that a single meat-based meal is ‘bad for you’.”

Actually that’s exactly what it means. Saying this is like arguing that a single cigarette isn’t bad for you.

In fact, according to these numbers, eating a serving of red or processed meat is probably somewhat comparable to smoking a single cigarette, in terms of risk. Your average cigarette smoker doesn’t light up just once per day, the average is around 12 times.

Excellent article and after a history of bowel cancer in our family, great to have some guidelines to follow.

So all European countries that eat processed meats must be warned!

“We know that, out of every 1000 people in the UK, about 61 will develop bowel cancer at some point in their lives. ”

I believe the rate is 61 out of 100,000. Not 61 out of 1,000.

Last time I checked . bacon was cured not processed. So since meat rafting has been around since the dawn of man. You would think that by now cancer would have reduced the population dramatically. Well that’s not happened. Why don’t you put this research right next to the pile of paper on global climate change. What a bunch of bunk. Nowshowus the financials on the funding for your research. Bet that shows more facts.

They can have my bacon when they pry it from my cold, dead fingers.

Here in Chile eating meat is a cultural event. It’s called a barbecue, but the word is not the same as the English. It’s a weekend activity where all you eat is meat, all of it red, and enormous quantities of that. Chile, Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay all are ranked in the top 10 with regards to red meat consumption. Don’t know about everyone else but I am going to continue eat it only occasionally.

Mae, you’re absolutely right. If we all had a little more respect for the life around us, we might all be a lot healthier. What comes around comes around.

Eat more eggs!! Great protein…gram for gram!

If you’re smoking, Jo jarvis, why are you even reading this?

YOu are an idiot if you believer the findings of the IARC. They TORTURED the evidence to come to the Conclusion THEY wanted.

The IARC “studied” errr, I mean looked up OTHER peoples studies and drew THEIR OWN Conclusions on 940 different items

Only one, a chemical found in yoga pants was found not to be carcogenic (in their opinon) at all.

See this is what happen WHEN POLITICAL Groups (NOT SCIENCE GROUPS) release findings to cheering throngs of mainstream media types, many, who have an agenda

what about kangaroo meat? Supposed to be a leaner, healthier red meat- I wonder how it compares to beef etc. But yes, moderation, the First Nations peoples of Australia wouldn’t eat meat everyday. Also, some people live to their 90’s smoking everyday- I guess some people can eat a lot of red/processed meat ti their 90’s too, it just depends on your genes. But, I like to think anything man-made, whatever it is, like processed meat, is bad for you.

WOW ! Thank you for this info !!!

Thank you Casey for clarifying this for us. Over here in the US, the media is having a field day with this one.

For me, as a science teacher in the far southeastern point of Europe, this was very helpful since media are making a mess with the information and raising enormous alarm. I know tomorrow my 12th grade students will ask me about it and I can give them a link to this article and let them judge for themselves (with a little help from me).
Thank you, this was very clear and I’m sure I’ll be looking for you when other such emergencies happen.

I wish I had an official determination about red meats. Your article (very good) starts saying that red meat is meat that is red. So, why is pork and lamb included in the same sentence. I also wonder about the stats in places like Spain, Italy, Germany were they eat a lot of sauseges. And places like Texas where they eat beef in their 3 meals (grilled). Also places like Argentina were they eat a lot of beef very well cooked ( also grilled). In Puerto Rico a lot of people eat salted cod fish, vienna sausages and processed corned beef as part of the regular diet. How are the stats here in Puerto Rico.

Moderation is the best policy, fashions keep changing. I don’t include smoking in this, although it hard to give up as it so addictive.

Stop worrying about whether meat gives you cancer and start worrying about the 70 billion land animals that are killed every year for food. Most of these animals are factory farmed. Day old calves killed so humans can steal their mothers milk, whilst their mothers grieve, chickens kept in cages where they cant move, same with pigs kept in gestation crates for weeks on end (incidentally pigs are three times more intelligent than dogs) Baby pigs castrated without aesthetic – their teeth cut down again without aesthetic. It could be called karma that most of the foods at the worst end of the WHO scale are made from pig corpses – you reap what you sow.. Cows never let out of sheds to graze. I could go on.. Livestock farming is causing massive environmental damage. The blood, urine and faeces from the huge numbers of animals we are killing for food is causing dead zones in our oceans, rainforests are being chopped down at an acre a minute, to grown grain to feed them. Across the world there are water shortages due to animal farming being so water intensive. You should be a lot more worried about the fact that livestock farming is turning this planet into a cess pit. In addition, as livestock farming contributes a minimum of 18% to global warming (more than the whole transport system of the world including planes) We are much more likely to die from a planetary disaster. You may criticise vegans as much as you like but at least we give a s..t . .

If you eat less meat best thing is to supplement caloric intake with fat. More energy per gram and staves off hunger longer.Also fat isn’t broken down to carbohydrates( Too much protein will) which leads to the next problem – replacing meat based proteins with plant based will get you much more carbohydrates and likely kill you with diabetes long before the cancer will.

Life might as well be carcinogenic. Won’t stop me from enjoying it.

What about raising your own meat mean better right. Are talking about all red meat and sauages

People have been eating these things since forever! Switch to vegetables and we’ll surely have an article on the carcinogenic effects of spinach. Not to trivialize the matter; I’m simply saying that we’re all more than a little over-saturated with dire warnings that tell us we’ll be dying of this, that, or the other thing that we love.

Certainly, a diet that consists of an over-abundance of red meats cannot be good for you. Nothing new there.

Dr Alain Vadeboncoeur said today on Radio-Canada that an 18% increase means that your risk of getting cancer will go up from 7% to 8.5% or so. It’s not an 18% chance of getting cancer.

It’s a scam like always people I am still going to eat meat.

Great commentary. It helps understand risk at stake. You should send this article to the IARC.
Arnaud Chiolero, epidemiologist

Just to try and clarify extra points given some of the comments I’ve read here…

Red meat is defined as “…unprocessed mammalian muscle meat—for example, beef, veal, pork, lamb, mutton, horse, or goat meat—including minced or frozen meat” (Bouvard et al., 2015, p. 1).

Whereas, processed meat is considered to be “…meat that has been transformed through salting, curing, fermentation, smoking, or other processes to enhance flavour or improve preservation” (Bouvard et al., 2015, p.1).

The research (although full details have not yet been published to give exact information) is cross cultural including at least: 10 European countries, USA, Japan, Sweden, and Australia.

very informative post, but i still am confused regarding the definition. beef jerky, smoked turkey breast and salt cod, for example, are processed according to the text i’ve read. but it isn’t mentioned in any news. are they included in the report or not? are the harmful chemicals added to the meat in the process, or are they naturally synthesized by the process itself?

From what I understand; these figures come from the UK. How does the UK compare to other countries with high processed meat consumption like Germany (Sausages) and France (Saucisson)?

How do these countries compare to low pork diet countries such as Israel and Arab countries? Is there a significantly lower percentage of bowel cancer cases in predominantly Kosher and Halal consumer populations?

Could you tell me how fresh sausages cause cancer? Mince meat itself is not classed as processed meat so presumably there is no risk associated with fresh sausages in artificial casing (mince meat, herbs and spices). Is it because toxic preservatives are used to prevent bacteria growing on the hog, sheep or beef casings used for sausages? Therefore do you, Cancer research, recommend using artificial casing instead of natural ones, or simply could you suggest a less carcenageic preservative to use?

Is there another way of curing meat without using Nitroso compounds (Sodium or Potassium Nitrates)? From what I have read the Sodium Nitrites are much less toxic than using saltpeter, are they also less cancerous?

Final question, you mention that some harmful chemicals are likely to be created in the red meat itself during cooking. Would you therefore recommend eating beef and lamb steaks as rare as possible, because lets face it nobody is going to eat a 50g steak!

Why don’t you mention “the burnt toast gives you cancer” meme ?
Ah, cos despite similar newspaper scare stories the evidence is still very weak ..as you CR.uk point out on your Food controversies page.
http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/causes-of-cancer/diet-and-cancer/food-controversies#food_controversies7

Another article trying to find excuses to keep perpetuating bad habits. How can a Foundation that is supposed to work to cure cancer say that a carcinogen level 1 can be taken in moderation!? Lets go drink some plutonium in moderation too… because that is what healthy living is about.. ALL in moderation.

Shoot me now….if it is not one thing it’s another….don’t eat this and don’t eat that ….confused? You will be!

What the statistics for countries like Italy,Spain,France and Germany who eat more of these so called processed meat as people live quite a full life as I’m still not convinced,preserving meats has been around for centries.

I’m a bit confused. The article information seems to suggest that nitrites used in smoking are what contributes to cancer because of how they are metabolized in the gut. But at the end, it says to replace ham with chicken because white meats aren’t a risk.

So, does that mean white *smoked* meats and fish are ok? When we smoke turkey, we simply brine it and smoke it. They cook just as fast as the oven for the most part. But deli chicken and turkey still has nitrites in it. Anything that is slow or cold smoked (like bacon or fish) has to be preserved before smoking otherwise bacteria growth becomes a risk.

So, home smoked turkey probably ok depending how you do it. But if you buy your turkey slices from scar Mayer, probably not ok. But the article doesn’t really differentiate. So, is white meat with nitrites ok, or no? Is it the red meat interacting with the nitrites that is bad, or the nitrites all together??

Arby’s. “We STILL have the meats!”

I don’t understand why a Cancer charity would post an article encouraging people to eat a group 1 carcinogen. You’d never write a blog like this about smoking.

Utter hogwash

I am confused if the “processing” involves smoking and/ or nitrites why are sausages ,that in the UK use neither ,mentioned ?

thanks for the great detail, the evidence based approach and the balanced view

What about the fact that the meat we are eating is cruelly and intensively farmed causing an animal to suffer during its short lifetime, to be pumped full of chemicals and hormones during this growing time? When are we going to recognise the damage that does in addition to your information above, I thank you in advance for reflecting and expanding your explanation. Feel free to contact the charity Compassion in Farming for a more definitive quote.

are you kiddin me??? you are trying to downplay the risk of eating meat. you say: “Our advice on diet stays the same: eat plenty of fibre, fruit and vegetables; cut back on red and processed meat, and salt; and limit your alcohol intake. It might sound boring but it’s true: healthy living is all about moderation.
Except for smoking: that’s always bad for you.”
You actually say that, when the whole point of the World Health Organization’s study was to show that processed meat has the SAME risk as smoking cigarettes. The SAME.
It should bother anyone with a fair amount of intelligence that you’re telling us you to eat (even a small portion) of something that is proven to be in the same health category as asbestos and arsenic.
Not to mention countless actual studies that have proven time and time again that healthy plant based diets reduce the risk of any illness and help cure them even when its said that they can’t be cured. Oh but that is all bogus right, because that doesn’t bring any cash in.

A very informative and moderate article. However, the last infographic – the one about how much meat to eat – is nonsense. Breakfast and lunch, fine, but then at dinner, it says the cut the mince in bolognese to the arbitrary amount that would bring the total to 70g. So they recommend you use 15g of mince – less mince than one slice of bacon? That amount would be almost non-existent. That’s not even worth having. A better suggestion would be to replace it with white mince.

“The results showed that those who ate the most processed meat had around a 17% higher risk of developing bowel cancer” and smoking meta analysis showed that those who smoked had around an 8% higher risk of developing cancer. Both are low numbers.
On the other hand, the humanity has smoked and eaten processed meat (smoked, cured) since the begining of time so probably developed a lot of mechanisms to deal with both. But not with exhaust from cars, coke etc.

This is a really useful article that clearly and articulately explains the findings. Thank you

I’ve always heard that the rate of bowel cancers or related cancers are almost zero in 3rd world countries because of their lack of processed meats or meats containing nitrites. This would tend to buttress the claim that these can increase the amount of said cancers.

I really hope no money people have donated goes on this kind of nonsense, so far in the time I have been alive nearly everything has been cancer. So we saying people from France, Italy and Germany are at a higher risk as they eat a lot more processed meats like salami ? And smoked meats, Nonsence. Can we not look at finding a cure instead of scaremongering people.

Well I find this very interesting. I’m a bowel cancer survivor and rarely ate red meat or processed meats. I would usually have bacon and eggs for breakfast once a week, the occasional lamb or beef roast, once a month maybe. I ate mainly chicken & tuna as my staple diet and plenty of vegetables. Probably didn’t eat enough fruit in general but other than that, my diet was pretty good. I asked my surgeon, why me? after diagnosis and his answer was, “We are totally clueless as to why some people get bowel cancer and others don’t” so I wouldn’t sign off red meat based on this study.

yum, battery farm chicken and fish coloured with dye. That won’t increase my risk of cancer compared to pasture raised beef and lamb.

The diagram showing how much meat should be eaten daily ay be re-arranged like this.
The meat 50 gms or 70 gms is to be taken in dinners only and in luch time no animal protein is to be allowed. for detailed discussion one may contact me anytime KazmisBioscienceLabs 923212121060.

So chicken is OK? Where do chicken nuggets get classified… processed or chicken?

You are influenced by the large cattle and grain producers. There is no need to publish this otherwise. We can interpret the figures.

I’ve been trying to find out all day. Processed meat and red meat increase risk of cancer. Does this mean processed WHITE meat is increases cancer?

Thanks it’s a lot clearer, I think that ‘hazard identification’, not ‘risk assessment’. should have been a bit more I the foreground of the briefings to journalists . And the definition of processed meat as not including fresh sausages etc could also have been a bit clearer in briefing to journalists, not that it would stop their hunger for ‘click bait’

You said “substitute ham for chicken or tuna.” That is backwards of what you mean.

Sausages would not fall into the same category as many other processed meats surely as they aren’t high in nitrites – are they? Usually have a bit of sulphite & sold pretty fresh at the butcher. I would like clarification on this as my kids eat them regularly.

You know they classify pot next to heroin lol so they are now saying meat is as dangerous as cigarettes when we have consumed meat since beinging, it’s circle of life. But sheep will be sheep.

Great article explaining some of the findings here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2661797/
Given that now many processed meats are made with ascorbic acid or some other anti-oxidant (which should theoretically reduce nitrosamine formation), and the cohort studies are based on older methods of production – is there scope to suggest that the risk might be reduced in the future with better production methods? Also, why aren’t other processed foods included, like smoked fish, for example, which undoubtedly also has high amount of nitrosamine formation potential?

“there’s no strong evidence linking fresh white meats such as chicken, turkey, or fish to any types of cancer”

You should check this out: http://nutritionfacts.org/topics/chicken/

I am not much of a red meat eater or proccessed lunch meat. The information is interesring and important Will share with family who kove to barbeque. Will also share with colleagues at school. Thank you for all the grsphs and charts which make it easier for people to clearly see the need to think about one’s regular diet.

Good information, nicely balanced and very well explained.
BUT PLEASE change the “Substitute ham for chicken or tuna” to “Replace ham with chicken or tuna”. What you have said means the opposite of what you intend. Please don’t lose credibility with sloppy English grammar.

One, today’s report was from WHO. Two, its an 18% increased risk with none of the reports giving any clue on the controls for this study. I hate hot dogs and don’t really care for bacon. But al least have some honesty in your reporting.

I feel it’s all a “Storm in a Hotpot”, perhaps with some underlying agenda. -Let’s face it, I don’t think this is something we didn’t already know, just as there are some who like their meat ‘carbonized’ (well, well done) in preference to those who like it virtually ‘raw’ by comparison.They have just put numbers & percentages in to ‘qualify it.’ – Also there is some support for ‘irradiated ‘ or microwaved meat -; Apparently, during WW2, RAF groundcrew on Nightfighter bases had discovered that bunging your sausages on the radar aerials & turning the set on & it would cook them! -I don’t think anyone was worrying about their health at that time. In these times, we have so much more out there that can kill us without getting stressed-out about MEAT.- I too have friends & family who have died of Bowel etc.type cancers, (my wonderful Mum just a month ago), but this News, quoted from the WHO apparently, has just blasted all over our country today & it all sounds rather ‘contrived.’- Historically scientists’ are not adverse to accepting a “funding-boost” to put forth ‘findings’ that concur with political or corporate agendas and this has all the trademarks of it. I don’t believe for a sec that this website is trying to do this, it comes from a much greater source, the Bilderburg Group perhaps, or some such powerful mafia. ~ Cheers ~

This means fried chicken is A-OK. Saddle up kiddies!

Very informative. I especially appreciated the part, “How does red and processed meat cause cancer?” and the clarity and focus of category explanations.

It’s been known for years so this is huge news! No more sausage sizzles for fundraising then… And also, what’s so wrong with stocking up on tofu??

Thanks, this is the most clear breakdown of the statistics I’ve seen. I gave up meat long ago, originally for idealistic reasons around the environment and how animals are treated, but have found it to be much healthier personally. A 1% lower lifetime chance of bowel cancer is a nice bonus. I’ve found it’s really worth checking out where your food comes from, whatever you’re eating, look at the farms you get it from, and then it makes it easier to get more enjoyment out of eating healthier. At first I thought it would be hard to “give up” the tons of easy processed-meat and processed-junk that got me through childhood, but eating well has turned out to be much more enjoyable and varied, and so much easier than getting on the dieting bandwagons.

That is breast cancer.

I eat meat, but smaller portions. I do eat 2 slices of uncured bacon microwaved about 4 times a week, and lamb baked in oven occasionally. I have salmon maybe once a week or some fish. I don’t like chicken much but I buy it already cooked. I am a survivor of cancer for 26 yrs and my colon has never had a polyup(sic). I will even lower this more.

Stop over thinking this news folks. Has nothing to do with cancer and everything to do with appeasing muslims.

Very nice and balanced piece. Far superior to the screaming headlines we see all over. Thank you!

Very well written – thank you Casey!

OH…the beef lobby is quick and sneaky! Next they will resurrect another bird flu chicken scare. And by the way, check the sodium content in your restaurant burger dishes….WAY over the daily limits on many. Plenty of other meat options than processed red….just the opinion of a healthy 69 year old.

Now put it into context. What’s a diabetic suppose to do? There are a whole group of diabetics who control their blood sugar by consuming almost nothing but protein. What about heart disease and diabetes caused by increased consumption of carbohydrates? You’re going to replace that red meat with something.

Substitute ham for chicken and tuna??

When you refer to “ball-park risks,” that’s a pun, right?(http://www.ballparkbrand.com/products/hot-dogs)

The ACTUAL risk is around 0.5% – 1.0% per 50 grams DAILY. So if you don’t have it one day, even less. That is aside from the massive numbers of confounding variables.

Fantastic article. Lots of people and the media going crazy today, saying processed meat is as bad as smoking. I think we need to teach more science in school.

let me get this straight, between high processed meat eaters and low meat eaters, there’s a 10 out of 1,000 or 1 percentage point difference in absolute risk of bowel cancer? This sounds like statistical noise to me

I am a cancer patient. I won’t give up red meat. My advice… Don’t smoke, eat balanced diet and exercise and you won’t go far wrong. Incidentally I had a BBQ for tea tonight and it was lovely!

What if I buy nitrate or nitrite free turkey lunch meat?

“What about venison and other wild game?”
From the article, I would think it falls in with the other red meats. Category 2 if you cook it fresh, category 1 if you smoke it or make sausage. And grilling is apparently riskier than slow-cooking.

If you read it properly dush bag you will see it is processed stuff that is causing all the damage…how any experts do you people need…they re all shouting processed is bad for you but yous just don’ listen…but you’ll keep me personal trainers, doctors, pharma industries and big bad food suppliers in business for years to come because you can’t cook and buy decent food :) IMHO we could do more to help others if we could help ourselves.

I tried to calculate what the actual decrease in life expectancy might be. I came up with roughly 1 day’s life expectancy decrease for an 18% increase in the likelihood of getting colo-rectal cancer, based on the US survival statistics.

Anyone care to check?

What awful subjectivity to compare something like smoking to eating meat to rationalize eating meat being ‘not as bad’. This is supposed to be a science blog, remain objective please.

What about venison and other wild game?

2013 The UN urges people to eat insects to fight world hunger. May 2015 The UN advocates eating bugs as a way to offset livestock production to decrease global warming. October 2015 UN states that eating processed meats is as bad as smoking tobacco and asbestos.
I think the UN is smoking crack! Seems like a theme with them. If they are so hot about eating nasty bugs, let them set the example by only serving them insects at their elaborate banquets and dinners first before demanding the rest of the world eat unclean things so they can live their lavish lifestyles! What a bunch of self-important hypocrytes.

DocMills – It’s not accurate to say that all ‘UK sausages’ (compared to, say, continental salamis) are ‘are not classified as processed meat’ – for example, shop-bought ‘English-style’ sausages contain extra salt and preservatives, meaning they fall under IARC’s classification as ‘processed’ (you can read their Q&A here).

Karen – Our BBQ events are all about getting friends and family together to help raise funds for our research. We certainly don’t ask people to host a BBQ every day, and we do challenge people to look beyond the boring burger and sausages combo.

Deb, yes, IARC are including processed chicken and turkey as ‘processed meat’ (even though chicken/turkey aren’t ‘red’ meat) – the key thing to bear in mind is that ‘processed’ foods are foods that have been altered in some way to enhance their flavour or aid preservation. You can read more in IARC’s Q&A.

Henry Scowcroft
Cancer Research UK

The human race has evolved over hundreds of thousands of years to take advantage of cooked food, including red meat.

It is highly improbable that evolution over this length of time hasn’t included adaptations to any health risks that this may involve.

As such, the claim that unprocessed red meat causes cancer requires ‘extraordinary evidence’ which is something current epidemiological studies do not provide.

Dear Christopher Key, a study usually is a study, but the “China Study” is actually a book, which content has received some fair amount of criticism for, whilst containing some interesting informations, being way to assertive about the link between meat and cancer, and “forgetting” a lot of things which make the situation far from being as clear cut as it’s author claim it is. See here for a fairly complete evaluation of that book and it’s claims : http://rawfoodsos.com/2010/07/07/the-china-study-fact-or-fallac/ “The China Study: Fact or Fallacy?”

The fact that eating ANY animal products increases cancer risk has been known since the China Study was published in 2005. You have allowed your own bias to play down the influence diet has on cancer risk. Cancer Research UK, your advice should be to adopt a plant-based diet and not simply “cut down”. Animal products are as carcinogenic as smoking and asbestos whether you wish to acknowledge this fact or not.

You put salami, sausage and bacon as processed meats, what about chicken and turkey processed meats? Cold cuts, Ham, Pastrami??

Excellent infographic – very informative

If you have known about this for some time why were you encouraging people to have BBQ’s to raise money for you in the summer? Would it not be a better idea for you to promote not eating animals?

UK sausages, made with fresh meat, are not classified as processed meat