Meat processors shrug off WHO cancer warning

China’s meat processors are angry at a report from a WHO research institute that said bacon, sausages and other processed meats are carcinogenic.
Liu Jintao, vice marketing manager of Shuanghui, China’s largest pork producer, said the WHO IARC’s report was “deeply regrettable.”
“The report, though claiming to be published for human health, is in fact inhumane,” he said.
“Meat processing technology is part of human civilization and it shall not been destroyed by being labeled ‘carcinogenic’.”
According to the report, processed meats – such as sausages, bacon, and other cured meats – were a Group 1 carcinogen because of their links to bowel cancer. Red meats, such as beef and lamb, were placed in Group 2A as “probably carcinogenic to humans.”
From January to June this year, Shuanghui sold 753,000 tons of processed meat and posted 20.3 billion yuan (USD3.2 billion) in total revenue. In 2013, Shuanghui purchased its U.S. counterpart Smithfield Foods, making it China’s largest acquisition in the food industry.
The report, though opposed by meat traders, has caused public concern.
“Although no orders have been called off, many customers called us to inquire about meat safety and sales after the report was published Monday,” said Ma Xiaozhong, head of the Jinhua Ham Industry Association.
Ma said that the Chinese have been more and more aware of their diet in recent years, with some choosing to avoid pickled food. He believed that the IARC’s warning should just be taken as a tip to increase nutrition awareness. However, rising meat consumption has the potential to increase over the next decade.
At a Daoxiangcun store in Beijing, buyers shrugged off cancer worries. A woman who gave her name as Li was buying sausages. “Eating one sausage a day is no problem. The reports are over-exaggerated and alarmist,” she said. Xinhua