More than half the population would back a front-of-pack warning that processed meat containing nitrites may cause cancer.
Exclusive research by The Harris Poll UK commissioned by The Grocer found 55% of bacon and ham eaters would support a warning similar to those found on tobacco products.
The measure was one of several called for by health experts including Professor Chris Elliot last October. Their intervention came 10 years to the day after the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the World Health Organization, found processed meats such as bacon and ham pose as great a cancer risk as asbestos and tobacco.
Experts for the Coalition Against Nitrites analysed data from Cancer Research UK and the British Journal of Cancer to conclude that more than 50,000 British people have suffered from bowel cancer because of the failure to act on the warning in the 2015 report.
Only 29% of the consumers polled were aware of last year’s report, but it had a big impact amongst those who had seen it. Some 84% said they had changed their diet after reading about the report. Two-in-five (39%) buy less processed meat, 29% have switched to nitrite-free products and 29% said they had cut all processed meats from their diet.
Asked if they would support a ban on nitrite-cured meat, 46% said they would and only 16% opposed it, with the rest undecided. Support was largely unchanged if a ban caused products to become more expensive – 84% of those who would back a ban would still do so if it meant paying more for ham and bacon.
This, The Harris Poll UK, said shows that retailers can introduce nitrite-free SKUs at a higher cost “provided they build trust and visibility”.
Eight months after the Coaltion Against Nitrites campaign, consumption remains high. Some 58% eat bacon and ham at least once a fortnight. Men eat it most regularly, with 43% saying they typically eat ham or bacon at least once a week compared with 32% of women.
According to The Harris Poll UK, awareness not preference is the trigger for market movement which is why “retailers who lead with clear, simple information now will capture early switching and shape the conversation”.
It added that the sector should assume “rising scrutiny” and urged “proactive communications and product solutions will be judged more favourably than defensiveness”.
The research was welcomed by the Coalition Against Nitrites, who said that demand for nitrite-free products was on the rise, offering manufactuers and retailers “a wonderful opportunity to accelerate the transition to safer products”.
The spokesperson added: ”When a known carcinogenic chemical is no longer needed in food production, there can be no justification for continuing to use it.”
However, the Food Standards Agency still permits the use of nitrites in meat products. It said it was continuing to monitor its advice on nitrites and urged that consumption of processed meat in general increases the risk of bowel cancer and other diseases.
“The exact cause of these risks remains unclear, and this is why we fully support the NHS advice that people who eat more than 90g of red or processed meat a day should cut down to no more than 70g,” said Ian Young, chief scientific advisor at the FSA.
He added: “It’s important to understand that choosing nitrite-free processed meat does not remove all of the health risks associated with high consumption of processed meat.”
Most consumers (78%) agreed that people should be free to eat what they like and that bacon and ham are fine as an occasional treat (76%). Less than half are worried about health links: 46% worry about the processed meat–cancer link; 38% worry about gut health and 46% worry about salt.
The British Meat Processors Association technical operations director, David Lindars, agreed that nitrites still played an “important role in food safety” but added members were “implementing new methods to get nitrite use as low as possible without jeopardising public health”.
One of these businesses is Houghton Hams, which launched its first made-without-nitrites bacon in retail in 2019 and has plans to expand its offering with ham listings next month.
Director at Houghton Hams, Paul Wagstaff, said “more clarity [was] needed to help frame balanced consumer decision making”.
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