Meat eaters fearing that by consuming processed meats they are putting themselves at as much risk of cancer as smokers need not change their dietary habits just yet.
The World Health Organisation announced this week that pro-cessed meats cause cancer and have been placed in the same group as cigarettes and asbestos, but oncologist Stephen Brincat said many had completely misinterpreted the information.
“We must not blow this out of proportion. Processed meats have been placed in the same group as cigarettes based on how sound the evidence available was.”
Dr Brincat said that the WHO’s grouping of different carcinogenic products was on the basis of sufficient evidence and that the new information was not new at all.
“We’ve known for quite a while that eating a lot of processed meats was not healthy. This is more about the clarity of the evidence.”
The WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer referred to processed meats as any meats that had undergone a process of transformation through salting, curing, fermentation, smoking and any other method of enhancing flavours.
Meanwhile, members of parliament called for more widespread awareness on the consumption of carcinogenic products.
Labour MP Deo Debattista last week told Parliament that known carcinogenic products should carry a levy, with the revenue going into a fund for the treatment of cancer.
Asked about this in light of the WHO report, Dr Debattista said that the first step to raising awareness would be to label all known carcinogenic products clearly and ensure they carry a levy.
“Not everyone knows which products pose cancer risks and so the first step has to be labelling the products and making sure those consuming such products would be aware that they are doing so.”
Nationalist MP Robert Cutajar, who earlier this year moved a Private Member’s Bill on curbing obesity, said health issues should always be given priority and did not exclude revisiting the obesity Bill to include new data.
“Just as other pressing issues are given priority in Parliament, reports like these need to be taken seriously. It’s our duty to make sure we tackle this immediately.”
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat expressed his concern on Twitter and said the classification by the health organisation worried him as a parent, consumer and policymaker. He also called for a wide debate on the matter.