Nitrites in bacon: MPs and scientists call for UK ban amid cancer fears

Leading food scientists and a cross-party group of MPs and peers are urging UK ministers to ban the use of chemicals in bacon that increase the risk of several forms of cancer.

< p class="dcr-3jlghf">They want the government to tell the pork industry to phase out the use of nitrites, which are used to treat bacon and give it its pink color to protect public health.

The initiative is led by Tory MP Dr Daniel Poulter, a former health minister under David Cameron, also an NHS doctor .

Around 90% of bacon sold in Britain is thought to contain nitrites, which research studies have linked to the development of cancers of the bowel, breast and prostate.

Poulter, the Labor MP Rosie Cooper, the port SNP Health Spokesperson Martyn Day and fellow Liberal Democrat Lady Walmsley are among the signatories of a letter to Steve Barclay, the new etary Health Secretary, and Professor Sir Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer of the government, about nitrites.

This decision is also supported by Professor Chris Elliott, Director of the Institute for Global Food Safety at Queen's University in Belfast, who led the government inquiry into the horsemeat scandal, and Professor Denis Corpet, an expert on the links between nitrites and cancer.

They want meat producers instead of using more natural alternatives to nitrites which play the same role during drying.

Elliott said, "Nitrite is found in many foods and can be perfectly harmless. But when they are used to cure bacon, and that bacon is then cooked and ingested, they produce carcinogenic nitrosamines in the stomach. We no longer need those chemicals to make the delicious bacon that so many of us love. If you can make bacon that tastes the same, looks the same, and is just as affordable without the need for carcinogenic chemicals, why would anyone choose to use them?"

The letter says that: "Studies by the World Health Organization, British, American and European universities, and even the UK government's own agencies suggest a link between the consumption of nitrite jerky and bowel cancer, the cause of over 10,000 deaths in the UK each year."

He urges ministers to pass "legislation banning the use of nitrites in food production and removing a potential health hazard that consumers are concerned about." Such a move, he adds, "could see a preventable cause of cancer taken out of circulation."

"Tasty and ab nitrite-free meat products ordables are now widely available in supermarkets. shelves across the UK meaning that the general British public never has to worry about being deprived of the bacon sandwich. of our nitrite-free bacon, there's simply no good reason not to.

Some UK meat producers are already making nitrite-free bacon, including M&S, Waitrose and Better Naked.

The Signatories want ministers to follow the example of France, where many cured meats are now made without nitrites since its parliament passed a law in February to phase out its use.

The National Pig Association has stated that the amount of nitrite additives used in UK pork production is within mits safety limits approved by the European Standards Agency food products.

He set up a committee of processors, retailers and academics to examine the levels of nitrites and nitrates in pork products and has started collecting data.

"Processors have already made significant historic progress, and this year alone, some processors have reduced their incoming nitrites by up to 60%," said declared the trade association.

A spokesman for the British Meat Producers Association said: "Work in progress s to reduce nitrites in meat products is work in which the UK meat industry is actively engaged.

"At every stage, the processing industry UK strictly adheres to regulations set by the Food Standards Agency and keeps nitrite and nitrate levels within legal limits."

The Department of