Meat producers say a report expected to be released today that will suggest bacon, ham and sausages are as big a threat as cigarettes and arsenic will not look at the full picture.
The report's classifications are likely to regard processed meat as "carcinogenic to humans". Photo: 123RF
The World Health Organisation will reportedly publish a report today on the dangers of eating processed meats.
A British newspaper said it was expected to list processed meat as a cancer-causing substance, while fresh red meat was also expected to be regarded as bad for health.
The classifications are believed to regard processed meat as "carcinogenic to humans", the highest of five possible rankings, shared with alcohol, asbestos, arsenic and cigarettes.
Beef and Lamb New Zealand said the report would be based on information already available to the community.
Nutrition manager for Beef and Lamb New Zealand Fiona Greig said the research would only look into whether red meat or processed meat was hazardous or not - it would not cover the context of other aspects of how people choose to live.
Cancer Society medical director Dr Chris Jackson would not comment on the nature of the report, but said he was eager to digest its context.
Ms Greig said the report would not take into account portion sizes people consume nor their life style choices.
She described the report as a consensus statement based on some experts from the international agency for research on cancer.
"They got together earlier this month to deliberate over the existing evidence."
Ms Greig said the report needed to be put into perspective.
She said that there was no published evidence that any single food, including processed meat, caused cancer.