According to certain associations, each year 4000 cases of cancer, linked to the consumption of charcuterie, would be avoided if nitro additives were completely prohibited.
The government on Monday presented an action plan providing for “immediate reductions in nitrate additives” of around 20% within a month for mass-consumption charcuterie products, in particular cooked hams, bacon bits, rillettes or dry sausages. This decision comes after a publication by the health agency (Anses) in July, confirming a link between the risk of cancer and exposure to nitrate additives.
At the forefront in the fight against these additives, the Foodwatch consumer defense association and the League against cancer have denounced Tuesday “the reluctance of the government, which is satisfied above all with reductions on the basis of voluntary commitments from manufacturers”.
Confirmed cancer risks
Nitrites and nitrates exist naturally in our environment, but they can also be intentionally added to food, in the form of food additives, in particular with a preservative role. Result, “our diet exposes us daily to nitrites and nitrates”, wrote ANSES in July.
Suspected for years of having a harmful effect on health, the health agency confirmed this summer “the existence of an association between the risk of colorectal cancer and exposure to nitrites and / or nitrates”. And “the higher the exposure to these compounds, the higher the risk of colorectal cancer in the population as well.”
Other cancer risks are also suspected, “but the available data do not allow, to date, to conclude the existence of a causal link”, specifies the health agency.
In January, high nitrite intake was also associated with an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
In this sense, the health agency has been calling for several months for the reduction of the use of nitro additives in marketed products, in particular charcuterie. To limit its exposure to nitrates and nitrites, the health agency also recommends limiting the consumption of charcuterie to 150 grams per week and per person (the equivalent of approximately three slices of ham) and to 500 grams per week of meat. red.
Why not ban them altogether?
On the side of butchers, we plead health safety in the use of these additives. Historically, this profession uses these components to extend the shelf life of products and prevent the development of pathogenic bacteria that cause botulism, a neurological condition serious largely forgotten because of health progress.
“I have no other solutions to guarantee health security”, assures BFMTV Joël Mauvigney, president of the national confederation of butchers-caterers, “there are still cases of botulism in France and there it does not forgive ” . However, this number is extremely low, with in 2017 four outbreaks of botulism recorded in France totaling five patients, thus reports Public Health France in a 2019 report on the subject.
Camille Dorioz, campaign manager at Foodwatch, points out the existence of nitrite-free charcuterie already on our shelves, which proves that it is possible to do without this additive.
“Parma ham, 20 years without nitrite, no bacteriological problem”, he also adds, “we have known how to do it for a long time, the question is are we ready to do it?”
“Why not go further when we have something carcinogenic, linked to a risk of cancer in our food?” he asks on BFMTV, adding that “there is no good dose for something carcinogenic in our food, it does not exist.”
According to the League Against Cancer, “4000 cases of cancer per year linked to the consumption of charcuterie could be avoided by banning these additives.”
In his plan, in addition to the immediate 20% cut, the government talks about short-term declines (6-12 months) from 25 to more than 30% on other products, such as “sausages, cooked sausages, pâtés, rillettes, andouilles and andouillettes”. The total elimination of the use of this additive is envisaged within 5 years, “in most charcuterie products”, if replacement solutions are found.
