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Meat industry disputes IARC study

France-based International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the cancer agency of the World Health Organization, says there is sufficient evidence that eating processed meat can lead to cancer but meat industry groups strongly disagree.  In a report released today, the agency says experts concluded that each 50 gram or 2 ounce portion of processed meat consumed daily increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 18 percent.  The study also listed red meat as “probably carcinogenic to humans” based on limited evidence that the consumption of red meat causes cancer.

Shalene McNeill, nutrition scientist and registered dietitian for the Beef Checkoff says billions of dollars of research have been spent on studies and no single food has ever been proven to cause or cure cancer.  McNeill says the available scientific evidence simply does not support a relationship between red or processed meat and any type of cancer.

The IARC evaluated more than 800 studies that investigated associations of several types of cancer with the consumption of red or processed meat from different countries with diverse diets.