Leading scientists are urging the UK government to introduce cigarette-style health warnings on packets of bacon and ham, warning that chemicals used in processing them can cause bowel cancer.
The demand comes a decade after the World Health Organization (WHO) classified processed meats as carcinogenic to humans, alongside tobacco and asbestos, due to nitrites—preservatives that give bacon and ham their pink colour and longer shelf life.
Experts say government “inaction” since the 2015 WHO report has contributed to 54,000 bowel cancer cases and an estimated £3bn cost to the NHS. In an open letter to Health Secretary Wes Streeting, members of the Coalition Against Nitrites, including four scientists involved in the original WHO warning, called for mandatory warning labels and a phase-out of nitrite use in processed meat.
“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.”
The WHO found that eating 50g of processed meat daily—about two rashers of bacon—raises bowel cancer risk by 18%. The World Cancer Research Fund confirmed that processed meats increase risk through reactions that form carcinogenic nitrosamines.
While the Fund stopped short of supporting warning labels, it urged the government to strengthen dietary guidance and promote healthier foods in schools and public spaces.
Former government food safety adviser Prof Chris Elliott said: “A decade on, ministers have done virtually nothing to reduce exposure to nitrites. Every year of delay means more preventable cancers and more strain on the NHS.”
The Department of Health and Social Care responded that the Food Standards Agency maintains “the link between nitrates, nitrites and cancer remains inconclusive.”
