French health authorities confirm “the existence of an association between the risk of colorectal cancer and exposure to nitrates and nitrites”, in particular via processed meat, in a notice published on Tuesday July 12 after several months of work. The National Food Safety Agency (ANSES) stresses that the analysis of data from scientific publications published on the subject “joins the classification of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)”.
The government announced on the same day a “action plan to reduce the addition of nitro additives in food products”which will be presented to Parliament in the autumn. “It is a question of limiting their use to what is strictly necessary. This reduction must be done in a balance guaranteeing the food safety of the consumer., indicate the Ministries of Health and Agriculture in a joint press release. A first meeting with the technical actors of the sectors “will be organized before the end of July 2022” et, ” in autumn “an action plan resulting from this work “will be presented to Parliament”they promise.
In 2015, the IARC of the World Health Organization (WHO) classified processed meat, including deli meats, as carcinogenic (category 1). It would promote, among other things, colorectal cancers which kill nearly 18,000 people a year in France. Ingested nitrites are considered probable carcinogens (category 2A).
Originally, the fight against botulism
Historically, butchers have used nitrated components to extend the shelf life of products. They make it possible to prevent the development of pathogenic bacteria at the origin in particular of botulism, a serious neurological affection largely forgotten because of the progress in health. These are also the components that give the naturally gray ham its pink color.
“Although reducing the additive level is likely to significantly increase the microbiological risk” (and therefore the development of diseases such as salmonellosis, listeriosis or botulism), ANSES “considers that it can be envisaged subject to the implementation of validated compensatory measures to control this risk”. For example by shortening the expiry dates of products or by acting at the level of the manufacturing stages (bioprotection measures in farms and slaughterhouses).
Hidden Nitrites
While major manufacturers, such as Herta or Fleury Michon, have already launched ranges of ham « sans nitrites »the agency warns against alternatives based on“plant extracts” or of “vegetable broths” : “This does not constitute a real alternative insofar as (ces substituants) naturally contain nitrates which, under the effect of bacteria, are converted into nitrites. “These so-called “no added nitrite” or “zero nitrite” products therefore contain hidden nitrates and nitrites,” points out the agency.
This winter, strong debates had opposed on the one hand the butchers who defended “a century-old know-how” respecting the law, and on the other hand consumer associations and the League Against Cancer, which pleaded for the outright banning of controversial additives.
In February, the National Assembly had voted the principle of a “declining trajectory” maximum doses of nitro additives in charcuterie. For its part, the government had said it wanted “wait for the return” of ANSES before pronouncing measures to implement the text, and had undertaken “follow advice” of the agency.
150 grams per week maximum
ANSES also considers it important to better define the “acceptable daily intake” (ADI) of nitrates and nitrites. Because she notes a paradox: the existence of a link between the consumption of processed meats and the risk of cancer, even though the maximum recommended doses (150 grams of charcuterie per week in France) are respected (by 99% of the population) .
ADIs are “defined separately for each of these substances, whereas the biochemical mechanisms involved constitute a series of transformations towards nitrosated compounds”, underlines the opinion. Clearly: nitrates, naturally present in soils, can see their concentration increased by agricultural activities (fertilizers, livestock effluents). They are found in the plants we eat and the water we drink.
In our mouth, under the effect of bacterial enzymes, ingested nitrates are transformed into nitrites. And the latter, unstable, can, when they are present in excess, generate the formation of “nitroso compounds”, “known for their genotoxic and carcinogenic nature”.