No, it (meat) shouldn't be compared to cigarettes and obviously that makes the whole thing a farce – comparing sausages to cigarettes," Australian Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce told national radio.
"I don't think that we should get too excited that if you have a sausage you're going to die of bowel cancer because you're not. You just don't want to live on sausages."
His Austrian counterpart, Andrae Rupprechter, echoed the sentiment.
"Placing ham on the same level as asbestos is outrageous nonsense and only serves to unsettle people," he wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday.
"There's no doubt for me: Austria's sausage is and remains the best."
Germany's food and agriculture minister said Tuesday that people should not be afraid of biting into a grilled bratwurst despite the World Health Organization's warning that sausages and ham cause cancer.
"No one should be afraid when eating a bratwurst," said Christian Schmidt.
"As with everything, what counts is the quantity: too much of something is always bad for health," he said in a statement.
The Australian meat industry's research and development corporation, Meat and Livestock Australia, said "promoting red meat as part of a healthy, balanced diet is important".
"Red meat such as beef and lamb is a critical, natural source of iron and zinc, vitamin B12 and omega-3 – essential nutrients needed to keep the body and brain functioning well," it said in a statement.