Ham in Lunch Boxes Issue

Background

The World Cancer Research Fund published its 2nd substantial report looking at the impact on diet and cancer on the 1 November 2007.

The main findings at the time were that “eating red meat and drinking alcohol even in small quantities increases the risk of developing cancer”. There was also media coverage on the link with obesity.

The timing of the latest coverage coincides with school children returning to school.

The BBC has run a story on its breakfast time programme and QMS has been asked to comment. Chairman, Donald Biggar provided a short comment on BBC Good Morning Scotland before the 9 o'clock news on Monday 17th August.

QMS Strategy

The aim is to close the story down. In 2007 QMS had been preparing for the report and had built relationships with the Rowett Institute (its CE and a senior academic were members of the advisory Red Meat Health Benefits Group) and a prominent Scottish nutritionist Dr Carrie Ruxton.

QMS and NFUS is ready to defend the industry and its products but independent positive reaction from the likes of Dr Ruxton is much more powerful. We will hold Dr Ruxton in reserve and monitor the story closely.

Lines and tone to take with the media

There are a number of areas where we can respond to defuse claims.

1) Any consumer who is confused or concerned by scientific reports like this are best advised to listen to advice from independent bodies such as the Food Standards Agency (FSA) who say red meat is an important part of a balanced diet and a good source of protein vitamins – all essential for good health. Cancer prevention is not as simple as cutting out one food or eating more of another. QMS has always advocated eating red meat as part of a balanced diet and all our educational material clearly states that.

The FSA has published its own list of lunch box menus – some of which feature ham. The British Dietetic Association also supports the inclusion of ham as a sandwich filler.

2) Ham does contain nitrates – which are used to preserve meat – but they account for a tiny amount of our total intake of these substances, ie around 2%.

Despite this the industry has been working hard with Government to reduce levels of nitrates and salt in processed meats for a number of years.

3) The current advice on red meat consumption is around 80 or 90 grams a day, just short of quarter of a pound in old measurements which would be a reasonable sized steak in anyone's book.

However the current average daily consumption rate in the UK (calculated from DEFRA nationally available figures) is well below that at around 45 grams per person per day.

4) A reduction in red meat consumption may also lead to problems elsewhere in the diet. It's a proven fact that meat meets the body's needs for high quality haem iron, zinc, vitamin B12, vitamin B6 and niacin. Considering that around 40% of UK women and teenage girls have low iron intakes, it is important not to exclude red meat from the diet.

5) As an industry we are well in tune with the drive to improve Scotland's diet and have made impressive advances particularly in the area of fat reduction. By breeding leaner animals and changing butchery cutting techniques the industry has been credited with reducing fat content in meat by around 40% over the last 30 years.

6) If a link is drawn between UK incidences of colorectal cancer and meat eating it is useful to point out that a quick look at what's happening elsewhere in the world suggests there may be more to it than that. For example Argentina – Argentineans eat around 65kgs of red meat a year and their colorectal incidences are half that of the UK.

7) QMS supports a common sense approach based on fact and supported by the Food Standards Agency that re meat is good for you as part of a healthy balanced diet.

8) The research methodology – Most of the evidence used by the 2007 WCRF report is based on epidemiology – observations about groups of people that eat a lot of meat. The trouble with these types of studies is that we don't know what else is going on. High meat eaters tend to have low intakes of fibre, fruit and vegetables. They may also be quite sedentary. So are we really looking at an effect of red meat on cancer, or an effect of low fibre, low fruit, high fat diets, or an effect of low levels of exercise? Various studies have shown that obesity and smoking are much higher risk factors for cancer. The simple fact is that we don't know at present and it would be premature to ask people to cut out red meat given that so many women and young girls are at risk from iron deficiency.