The French Agency for Food, Environmental, and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) issued a statement advising consumers to limit their intake of foods containing nitrates and nitrites like the processed meats popular in hors d’oeuvres and on sandwiches. It’s well established that eating foods containing nitrates can lead to higher risk for colorectal cancer if consumed in excess. “The higher the exposure to these compounds, the greater the risk of colorectal cancer in the population,” the statement reports. ANSES recommends eating no more than 150 grams of processed meat per week — the equivalent of about five slices of deli meat. Nitrates are commonly added to foods like processed meats to extend their shelf life and impart a certain je ne sais quoi to their flavor. Added nitrates preserve food and prevent dangerous microorganisms — like the bacteria that cause botulism and salmonella, for example — from growing. Nitrate occurs naturally in leafy greens like spinach and is found in some drinking water from fertilizer runoff from farms. Nitrates are not inherently carcinogenic themselves, but can form carcinogens by reacting with other compounds in the body, according to a March 2020 study in the journal Antioxidants. Any meat that has been transformed through salting, curing, or smoking is considered to be processed. Sausages, beef jerky, hot dogs, ham, and cured meats like prosciutto and salami all fall into this category. In an October 2015 report, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) warned that consuming processed meats such as deli slices and cured meats on a daily basis increases colorectal cancer risk by 18 percent. Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosis and cause of death by cancer in the United States. In the IARC report, Kurt Straif, MD, MPH, head of the division that identifies preventable causes of cancer, said that the amount of processed meats eaten on a global scale is what makes this finding substantial. “For an individual, the risk of developing colorectal cancer because of their consumption of processed meat remains small, but this risk increases with the amount of meat consumed,” said Dr. Straif. The ANSES report recommends that the industry eventually adjusts the amount of nitrates in processed meats to the lowest level possible while still ensuring product safety.
