The National Food Safety Agency of France confirmed on Tuesday a link between the risk of colorectal cancer and exposure to nitrites and nitrates, additives mainly used in charcuterie.
Posted at 12:00 a.m.
This opinion, eagerly awaited in France, confirms the conclusions of the World Health Organization (WHO), which in 2015 classified processed meats as carcinogenic.
“These nitrite salts are used to stabilize the color and flavor of meats,” explains Stéphanie Côté, nutritionist active on Instagram and TikTok. They extend the life of deli meats, she adds, and prevent the growth of bacteria like Clostridium botulinum which causes botulism, a rare but serious paralytic disease.
French MPs voted, last February, for a reduction in the maximum quantities of nitrite additives allowed in charcuterie, without moving towards a complete ban on them. The text had been proposed by the centrist deputy Richard Ramos, who saw in it a “concrete response to junk food which mainly affects the poorest”.
At the time, the Minister for Relations with Parliament, Marc Fesneau, now Minister of Agriculture, was worried about the “risk of a two-speed diet” since some delicatessens are developing products without nitrite, but more expensive. . The minister, however, preferred to wait for the conclusions of the National Health Security Agency of France (ANSES) before legislating on the quantities of nitrites and nitrates allowed in processed meats.
On Tuesday, a few hours after the publication of the notice, the government announced an “action plan” aimed at reducing or eliminating the use of nitro additives “in all food products where this is possible without health impact”, according to a press release from the Ministries of Health and Agriculture.
The action plan will be presented in the autumn by Parliament.
The League Against Cancer again called for a ban on nitrite additives on Tuesday. The French Federation of butchers, she described the opinion of ANSES as “balanced”. “We are the country in the world where we use the least additives, with Denmark. We have already started to lower the level of additives and we will continue to lower it, ”said its president, Bernard Vallat, to AFP.
In Canada, the Canadian Cancer Society has reminded that the consumption of processed meats indeed increases the risk of colorectal cancer, but also of the stomach, pancreas and esophagus.
In Canada, about 1200 cancer cases were due to the consumption of processed meat in 2015, and if Canadians reduced their consumption to half a serving per week, we could prevent about 16,600 cancer cases respectively by 2042.
Jack-Malcolm Samedi, Communications Manager of the Canadian Cancer Society
Quebec nutritionist Stéphanie Côté recalls that the WHO and Health Canada already recommend reducing the consumption of processed meats. “It is the same message that repeats itself. Yes, it’s better to limit cold cuts and opt for a varied diet, ”she recalls.
“It’s not just ham sandwiches in life! There are plenty of other options,” she adds. The nutritionist talks about barbecued meats, fish, veggie pâté, legume spreads and tofu.
With Agence France-Presse
Learn more
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- 26,900
- Number of Canadians who were diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2020
source: Health Canada
- 3e
- Colorectal cancer is at 3e rank of most common cancers in Canada
source: Health Canada