Red meat and processed meat: IARC assessment

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) evaluated the carcinogenicity of red meat and processed meat.

After a thorough analysis of the scientific literature, a working group of 22 international experts, committed as part of the IARC Monographs, has classified the consumption of red meat as probably carcinogenic to humans (group 2A) and consumption of meat products in group 1, on the basis of a sufficient evidence for colorectal cancer.

Experts point out that for each serving of 50 grams of processed meat consumed per day the risk of colorectal cancer increases by 18%; but the same relationship was observed with tumors of the pancreas and prostate.

These important evaluations will be published in Volume 114 of the IARC Monographs and a summary of them has just been published on The Lancet Oncology .

Read more:

• IARC website
• Press release " IARC Monographs evaluate consumption of red meat and processed meat " (10.26.2015)
• IARC classification of carcinogens
• IARC criteria for classification according to Istituto Superiore di Sanità
• Science on the net website