Experts are urging the UK government to introduce cigarette-style warning labels on bacon and ham, warning that chemicals used in their production can cause bowel cancer.
The call comes 10 years after the World Health Organization (WHO) classified processed meat as carcinogenic to humans, in the same category as tobacco and asbestos. Despite this, scientists say the government has done “virtually nothing” to reduce public exposure to nitrites, which are used to cure and preserve meat and give it its pink colour.
According to new analysis by the Coalition Against Nitrites, government inaction has led to an estimated 54,000 bowel cancer cases over the past decade, costing the NHS £3bn.
Four scientists who contributed to the original WHO warning have written to Health Secretary Wes Streeting, calling for mandatory warning labels and a plan to phase out nitrite use in processed meat.
“Consumers deserve clear information,” said Prof Denis Corpet of Toulouse University. “Most people don’t realise that nitrite-cured meats like bacon and ham are in the same carcinogenic category as tobacco and asbestos.”
The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) reaffirmed that processed meat increases the risk of bowel cancer but stopped short of supporting mandatory labels, instead calling for stronger dietary guidance and better access to healthy foods.
Prof Chris Elliott, another signatory, criticised the government’s inaction: “Every year of delay means more preventable cancers and greater strain on the NHS.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson responded that the Food Standards Agency considers the evidence linking nitrites to cancer “inconclusive.”
