According to the Guardian, British scientists and health experts formed an “anti-nitrite coalition” and recently sent a joint letter to the UK’s Health and Social Affairs Minister, Wes Streeting.
“It is estimated that 90 to 95% of bacon and ham currently sold in the UK contain nitrite,” they said. “We need to put a carcinogenic warning on these products like cigarette wrappers, and phase out the production of processed meat using nitrite in the next few years.”
“Even after the WHO’s warning, the British government did not restrict the use of nitrite, so 54,000 Britons have colorectal cancer over the past decade, and the British National Health Insurance has spent about £3 billion to treat it,” he said.
Nitrite is a substance that preserves meat for a long time and maintains the unique pink color of ham. The International Cancer Institute (IARC) under the World Health Organization (WHO) announced in October 2015 that processed meat containing nitrite is classified as a “group 1 carcinogen” and has the same class of carcinogens as cigarettes and asbestos. At the time, the IARC combined data from more than 10 studies and warned that “every 50 grams of processed meat a day increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 18%.
Professor Chris Elliott, who served as a British food safety advisor, explained, “Nitrite is converted into a powerful carcinogen called nitrosamine in the body.”
“Consumers have the right to be provided with clear information,” said Dennis Corpe, emeritus professor of food safety and nutrition at the University of Toulouse in France. “Most people do not know that the WHO has classified processed meat as carcinogens such as cigarettes and asbestos.”
On the other hand, the UK Ministry of Health and Social Welfare took a cautious stance, saying, “The Food Standards Agency (FSA) did not conclude that nitrate or nitrite was directly causally associated with cancer.”
JULIE KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
