Editorial: Red Meat and Cancer Attracts Warning and Counter Claims

The Department of Health in the UK has issued advice to people, who eat a lot of red and processed meat, to consider cutting down to help reduce the risk of bowel cancer.

The advice followed the publication of a new report, from the independent expert Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN), which reviewed the evidence on the links between red and processed meat and bowel cancer.

It concludes that red and processed meat probably increases the risk of bowel cancer and people who eat around 90g or more should consider cutting down to reduce their risk. The health department advised that consumers should cut down to 70g a day.

However, the advice has been countered by the organic promotion body, the Soil Association.

"he Soil Association's Policy Advisor, Richard Young, said: "Any recommendation to limit the consumption of red meat should make it clear that most of the evidence linking it to bowel cancer comes from studies in the US, and that the situation in the UK may be very different.

"Red meat from animals reared on grass is known to contain much higher levels of beneficial fatty acids and other compounds, such as conjugated linoleic acid, which have been shown to have anti-cancer properties."

The European Commission has suspended the private storage aid for pig meat introduced in the EU a few weeks ago because of the dioxin crisis.

While it was open, more than 60 per cent of the requests for aid came from Germany, Spain and Denmark with 28 per cent from Germany, Spain (21 per cent) and Denmark (13 per cent).

This week in the UK, hundreds of British pig farmers are expected to descend on Downing Street in London to bring attention to the "huge losses" they are making.

MPs, celebrities and supporters are being invited to sign 16 foot pork sausage to show support as farmers are demanding a fair deal from supermarkets and processors as feed prices rocket.

Chris Harris

	Meat Science An Introductory Text Outlining the core principles of the subject, this introductory-level textbook covers the production of meat, its structure and chemical composition, meat quality and hygiene, and animal welfare, handling and slaughter. Order Now Online
	Thermal Processing of Ready-to-Eat Meat Products Thermal Processing of Ready-to-Eat Meat Products provides critical technical information on all aspects of thermal processing of RTE meat products. Order Now Online

This Week's Feature Articles

Global Meat Processing Industry News

European Union

Australia

United Kingdom

United States

Canada

General

Ireland

Russian Federation

Denmark

United Arab Emirates

Brazil

Argentina