The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that processed meats – such as bacon, ham and sausages – do cause cancer.
The report found that 50g of processed meat a day (less than two slices of bacon) increased the chance of developing colorectal cancer by 18%.
It also said that red meats were ‘probably carcinogenic’ but there was limited evidence to support this.
The World Health Organization did stress that meat did have health benefits.
Multiple cancer charities said this was a reason to cut down rather than give up red and processed meats, adding that the occasional bacon sandwich would do no harm.
The WHO has come to the conclusion on the advice of its International Agency for Research on Cancer, which assesses the best available scientific evidence.
It has now placed processed meat in the same category as plutonium, but also alcohol as they definitely do cause cancer.
Red meat does have nutritional value too and is a major source of iron, zinc and vitamin B12.
However, the WHO said there was limited evidence that 100g of red meat a day increased the risk of cancer by 17%.
Prof Tim Key, from the Cancer Research UK and the University of Oxford, said: “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.
“Eating a bacon bap every once in a while isn’t going to do much harm – having a healthy diet is all about moderation.”
Read More: Processed meats rank alongside smoking as cancer causes – WHO
