At the beginning of this week the WHO released a report that claimed eating processed meats - such as presunto, chouriço, bacon, sausages, frankfurter hotdogs, corned beef, biltong and ham - does cause cancer.
The report was compiled by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which is part of the World Health Organisation and which evaluated the carcinogenicity of the consumption of red meat and processed meat.
A working group put together by the IARC Monograph’s Programme concluded that eating processed meat causes colorectal cancer.
It found that eating 50g of processed meat a day – less than two slices of bacon – increases the chance of developing colorectal (bowel) cancer by 18 percent. An association with stomach cancer was also seen, but the evidence was not conclusive.
The report added red meats were “probably carcinogenic” but there was limited evidence.
Processed meat has now been placed by the IARC in the same category as smoking and asbestos with regards to its carcinogenicity to humans, but stressed the labelling does not mean they are equally as dangerous.
“In the case of processed meat, this classification is based on sufficient evidence from epidemiological studies that eating processed meat causes colorectal cancer”, the report explained, elaborating: “Processed meat has been classified in the same category as causes of cancer such as tobacco smoking and asbestos (IARC Group 1, carcinogenic to humans), but this does not mean that they are all equally dangerous. The IARC classifications describe the strength of the scientific evidence about an agent being a cause of cancer, rather than assessing the level of risk”.
Dr Kurt Straif from the IARC said: “For an individual, the risk of developing colorectal cancer because of their consumption of processed meat remains small, but this risk increases with the amount of meat consumed.”
Health advisories from around the world have meanwhile said that while people do not necessarily need to stop eating modified meats, cutting down may be worth considering.
In comments to newspaper Diário de Notícias José Manuel Silva, chairman of Portugal’s Medical Society, said the report stated nothing new.
“We already knew processed meats had negative effects on health. The solution is to eat less. We eat too much protein. If there is a carcinogenic effect we have to eat products that limit the detrimental effects, such as vegetables and fruits”, a view backed by the National Health Board (DGS).
Silva also warned that developing “obsessions or fundamentalism” should be avoided: “It is important to vary. Eating things of all colours.”
José Manuel Esteves, head of AHRESP, speaking to Lusa News Agency following the report’s release, said: “Calmly, we all, everyone for themselves as a consumer, should be alert, but there is no need to panic. The WHO report is positive. It is good that the population is made aware, but not to panic”.
Esteves stressed that a “balanced” diet is paramount and recalled that Portugal is the country with the most balanced diets in the world.
“I would like to recollect that we are one of the largest consumers of fish and we also have two key diets (Mediterranean and Atlantic) and we are European leaders in good hygiene practices and food safety”, he said.
Notwithstanding, within 24 hours of the report’s dissemination, butchers in Portugal were reporting drops in the sale of processed meats, news channel RTP reported.
On Wednesday Portuguese authorities met to analyse the WHO’s warning in an extraordinary meeting summoned by the national Food Safety Committee (CSA).
A dozen members from different entities, among them the Economy Ministry, health and safety authority ASAE and the DGS were due to debate the matter as well as measures to guarantee the safety of products sold in Portugal.
Other concerns were that after three years of steady decline, largely due to the economic crisis, last year meat production recovered and grew and traders now fear the WHO’s report could cause renewed trouble for the sector.
The WHO’s report was released on Monday and compiled by a working group made up of 22 specialists from 10 different countries who were called upon to be part of the Lyon-based IARC Monographs Programme.
In related news, new figures have shown that the consumption of beef and pork has been declining in Portugal ever since 2008, while poultry continues to gain ground as a proportion of overall animal protein.
This is according to the ‘Healthy Diet in Numbers 2014’ report also released on Monday by Portugal’s General Directorate of Health.
“Ever since records began, there has been the first ever turnaround in the underlying trend: poultry is rising in contrast to beef and pork,” the report stated, adding “nevertheless, the proportion of protein coming from animals remains above that desired.”
The report was based on figures from the National Institute of Statistics for the years 2008 to 2012.
Those same figures put the amount of beef eaten in 2008 as totalling 19.6 kilos per inhabitant and falling to 16.7 kilos in 2012, in a trend also reflected in the consumption of pork that fell from 47.1 kilos to 43.3 kilos per inhabitant over the same period.
In turn, the consumption of poultry, whether chicken, turkey, partridge or any other bird, rose from 33.8 kilos per inhabitant in 2008 to 35.8 kilos in 2012.
In overall terms, there was an unspecified decrease over these years in overall consumption of the food group made up of meat, fish and eggs , while the report concludes this was “not sufficient to substantially lower the excess level of availability of these” foodstuffs.