Red meat study linked to Texas beef industry

A nutrition research group, whose recent study drew heavy attention for downplaying the risks of red meat, received funding from a university programme partially backed by the beef industry.

The study, reported in the well-respected Annals of Internal Medicine, rocked the nutrition world by suggesting the negative health effects of red and processed meat had been overstated.

The international group of researchers, headed by Bradley C Johnston, an epidemiologist at Dalhousie University in Canada, concluded that warnings linking meat consumption to heart disease and cancer were not backed by good scientific evidence.

The group, which calls itself ‘‘NutriRECS’’, recommended meat eaters continue their current levels of consumption.

But undisclosed in the study was that NutriRECS, a consortium of about 20 researchers, has also formed a partnership with an arm of Texas A&M University partially funded by the beef industry.

The omission is the latest twist in an ongoing debate about how much researchers ought to disclose about potential conflicts of interest.

In April, Johnston announced the agriculture and life sciences (AgriLife) programme at Texas A&M would join the NutriRECS consortium and provide ‘‘generous support’’. AgriLife includes a beef cattle teaching programme, educational workshops for cattle ranchers and promotion of Texas beef to consumers.

An industry marketing arm paid for by Texas cattle ranchers, has funded some AgriLife studies.