Eating hot dogs, ham and other processed meat can cause colorectal cancer, and eating red meat "probably" can cause cancer, the World Health Organization's cancer agency reported Monday.
Kurt Straif of the International Agency for Cancer Research said the risk of developing colorectal cancer from eating processed meat remains small but rises with the amount consumed. Consuming red meat was linked to colorectal, pancreatic and prostate cancer, but the link was not as strong, the IARC report said.
“In view of the large number of people who consume processed meat, the global impact on cancer incidence is of public health importance," Straif said.
The IARC report labeled processed meat a carcinogen — cigarettes are similarly labeled — and said red meat is "probably carcinogenic to humans."
The North American Meat Institute scoffed at the report, saying it ignored "numerous" studies showing no link between meat and cancer.
“Red and processed meat are among 940 agents reviewed by IARC and found to pose some level of theoretical ‘hazard," institute spokeswoman Betsy Booren said. "Only one substance, a chemical in yoga pants, has been declared by IARC not to cause cancer.