It is ten years since the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared that processed meat was carcinogenic to humans and on October 24th the UK group ‘Coalition Against Nitrites’ alongside four of the original authors of the 2015 report from WHO and the International Agebcy for Research on Cancer (IARC) wrote to the UK Secretary of State for Health asking for urgent action.
In the UK it is estimated that 90-95% of packets of bacon and ham contain nitrites. The IARC have estimated that for every 50 gramme portion of processed meat containing nitrites consumed, the risk of bowel cancer is increased by 18%.[1]
Despite a wealth of global knowledge, recommendations and warnings, the Food Standards Agency in England, Wales and Northern Ireland published a recent review on this topic in October 2025[2] and have concluded that ‘the link between nitrates and nitrites and cancer remains inconclusive’. Members of the FSA COT Committee (Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment) apparently raised concerns in a close session of the meeting in March 2025 that animal studies were excluded form the externally funded review.  There is an interesting analysis of the FSA paper in the online news source ‘New Food’ where Professor Brian Green and Professor Chris Elliott, both eminent experts on food systems call for the FSA review to be withdrawn. Why the FSA’s Partial Nitrite Review must be retracted
[1] IARC Publications Website – Red Meat and Processed Meat
[2] Safety of Nitrates and Nitrites as Food Additives | Published in FSA Research and Evidence
