No need to cut down on bacon, says study

People are being urged to continue eating steak, sausages and bacon by experts who say there is no proof red and processed meats cause cancer.

In a controversial move, a team of researchers branded the evidence linking red meat with serious health problems so weak that they said people should carry on as they are – enjoying three to four portions of red and processed meat per week on average.

Their new guidance flies in the face of recommendations from health organisations including the World Cancer Research Fund, which tells people to avoid processed meat altogether or eat very little of it, while limiting red meat to about three portions a week.

The Department of Health and Social Care also recommends that anyone who eats more than 90g of red or processed meat per day should try to cut down to 70g or less.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation’s International Agency for Research on Cancer has said consumption of red meat is “probably carcinogenic” to humans, whereas processed meat is considered “carcinogenic”.

For the new study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, a team of international experts assessed the quality of the available evidence on eating meat and health outcomes.

The team – which included 14 experts from seven countries – said their analysis offered the “most up-to-date evidence on the topic”.

Study author Bradley Johnston, associate professor at Dalhousie University in Canada, said: “Based on the research, we cannot say with any certainty that eating red or processed meat causes cancer, diabetes or heart disease.”

“From 12 randomised controlled trials enrolling about 54,000 individuals, we did not find a statistically significant or an important association in the risk of heart disease, cancer or diabetes for those that consumed less red or processed meat.”