Hot dog makers and meat sellers say a report from the World Health Organisation (WHO) labelling wieners, bacon and other processed meats as cancer-causers is baloney.
The WHO said on Monday that processed meats raised the risk of colon, stomach and other cancers. It also said red meat probably contributes to the disease, too.
Meat eaters at a New York food court mostly shrugged off the report on Monday. And Wall Street investors seemed to do the same, with shares of meat producers little changed.
The North American Meat Institute, which represents meat producers, said the report was "alarmist."
"Classifying red and processed meat as cancer 'hazards' defies both common sense and numerous studies showing no correlation between meat and cancer," the association said in a statement.
Hormel Foods, which sells Spam, sliced bacon and canned chili, said the report "did not look at the benefits of meat consumption," which it cited as including "important nutrients" and "high quality proteins."
But Hormel may also be preparing for a shift in consumers eating less processed foods. Earlier this year it paid $775 million to buy Applegate Farms, which sells organic deli meats, hot dogs and bacon, and doesn't use antibiotics, hormones, artificial ingredients or chemical preservatives.
Shares of Hormel Foods Corp. fell 1 per cent on Monday, as did shares of Kraft Heinz Co., which makes Oscar Mayer hot dogs. Shares of Tyson Foods Inc., the maker of Ball Park hot dogs, Jimmy Dean sausage and Hillshire Farm ham, fell nearly five per cent, but that was attributed more to a research report from a JPMorgan Chase analyst that said Tyson is losing market share to competitors.
Whether Americans will stay away from hot dogs, bacon and other meaty treats remains to be seen. Visitors at a food court in New York's Penn Station, which houses a Nathan's Famous hot dog restaurant, mostly said the World Health Organisation report won't change what they eat.
"People nowadays, they say 'I'm going to change my eating habits,' but when you're hungry and you have to grab something close by, you're going to eat there," said Randy Duran of New York.
Clevie Henry from St. Lucia said the convenience and taste of processed meat outweighs the pitfalls. "Anything tastes better with bacon," Henry said.
Meanwhile, Australia, one of the world's top meat exporters, ridiculed the landmark UN report, saying it was "a farce" to suggest they could be as lethal as cigarettes. "No, it 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." 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. Australians are among the biggest consumers of meat in the world. They also have the eighth highest incidence of colorectal cancer globally. - AP, AFP
, according to the World Cancer Research Fund.
Cancer Council Australia estimates that red and processed meats are associated with around one in six bowel cancers diagnosed in the country.
Meat producers elsewhere were also sceptical of the report with the North American Meat Institute (NAMI) saying IARC "tortured the data to ensure a specific outcome".
NAMI vice president Betsy Booren pointed to the high consumption of processed meats as part of the Mediterranean diet, yet "people in countries where the Mediterranean diet is followed, like Spain, Italy and France, have some of the longest lifespans in the world and excellent health".
In Hong Kong, where bowel cancer is the number two top-killing tumour, the food industry blasted the findings as "too rash" saying they failed to specify what kind of preservatives and additives in processed meat are carcinogenic.
"They should explain if some processed food does not contain these kinds of additives, the risk of causing cancer would be lower," Simon Wong Ka-wo, chairman of the Chamber of Food and Beverage Industry, told the South China Morning Post.
Australia's Joyce said "the biggest thing is to make sure you get a balanced diet" as it was impossible for humans to avoid every cancer causing toxin in modern day life.
"If you got everything that the World Health Organization said was carcinogenic and took it out of your daily requirements, well you are kind of heading back to a cave," he said.
"If you're going to avoid everything that has any correlation with cancer whatsoever - don't walk outside, don't walk down the streets in Sydney, there's going to be very little in life that you do in the end."
The IARC evaluation revealed "strong mechanistic evidence supporting a carcinogenic effect" for red meat consumption - mainly for cancer of the colon and rectum, but also the pancreas and prostate, said the agency based in Lyon, France.
As for processed meat, including hot dogs, sausages, corned beef, dried meat like beef jerky or South African biltong, canned meat or meat-based sauces, there was "sufficient evidence in humans that the consumption of processed meat causes colorectal cancer."
Joey Chestnut, left, and Matt Stonie compete in Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest men's competition in the Coney Island section of the Brooklyn borough of New York.
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