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The review by the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), released on Monday put processed meat in its group 1 list. This list includes other substances such as tobacco and asbestos, for which there is sufficient evidence of cancer links. Red meat was classified as probably carcinogenic in IARC's group 2A list, which already this year had glyphosate added to it, an active ingredient in many weed killers.
The IARC was carrying out a formal review of meat for the first time and examined some 800 studies during a meeting of 22 health experts in France earlier this month.
Speaking on behalf of the IFA, a spokesman said: “Consuming recommended quantities of red meat is well recognised by medical experts as being beneficial to human health and provides the body with essential vitamins and minerals. Red meat is an important part of a balanced diet in most western societies where a plentiful supply of quality foods has added greatly to health and life expectancy.”
The Irish Cancer Society concurred with the WHO report: "There is strong scientific evidence to support avoiding or limiting the consumption of processed meat, which has been linked to colorectal cancer." The Society said a diet high in red and processed meat is linked to bowel cancer and recommends avoiding processed meats and reducing the consumption of cooked red meat to 500 grams per week," a spokesperson said.
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