Experts are calling for cigarette-style health warnings on bacon and ham sold in the UK, arguing that chemicals used in their production significantly increase the risk of bowel cancer.
The demand comes 10 years after the World Health Organization (WHO) classified processed meat as carcinogenic to humans, placing it in the same category as tobacco and asbestos. Nitrites, added to cured meats to preserve them and give their pink colour, are believed to form cancer-causing compounds in the body.
Researchers accuse successive UK governments of “doing virtually nothing” since the 2015 warning, estimating that inaction has led to 54,000 bowel cancer cases and cost the NHS about £3bn.
In a letter organised by the Coalition Against Nitrites, scientists — including four who contributed to the original WHO report — urged health secretary Wes Streeting to require warning labels on nitrite-cured meat and phase out the use of the chemicals within a few years.
“Consumers deserve clear information,” said Prof Denis Corpet of Toulouse University. “Most people don’t realise that nitrite-cured meats like bacon and ham are in the same carcinogenic category as tobacco and asbestos.”
While the World Cancer Research Fund confirmed that processed meat increases colorectal cancer risk, it stopped short of backing warning labels, instead calling for stricter dietary guidance and greater access to healthier foods.
Prof Chris Elliott, a former government food safety adviser, said the UK’s slow response meant “more preventable cancers and greater strain on the NHS.”
The Department of Health and Social Care responded that the Food Standards Agency considers the link between nitrites and cancer “inconclusive.”
