Fear UK consumers are more exposed to cancer-causing food because of Brexit

Independent

14-05-2025

Fears have been raised that Brexit has left British consumers more exposed to food that can give them cancer because the UK has failed to keep up with EU standards since leaving the bloc.
Hopes are high that if Keir Starmer agrees to align the UK to EU rules and regulations in his Brexit reset deal to be unveiled on Monday, then the exposure to carcinogenic nitrites in bacon and ham can be removed.
But the concerns are reflected in a new J.L Partners poll that not only revealed more than two-thirds (69 per cent) of Brits fear the UK is falling behind European food standards but the worries are shared by even 55 per cent of pro-Brexit 2024 Reform voters.
Stricter EU rules limiting the amount of nitrites permitted in bacon and ham come into force in October - but the UK is currently permitting higher levels of the carcinogenic chemicals in its processed meat.
The issue has been taken up by a group of the world's leading scientists, who have joined representatives from seven political parties, including a former UK health minister, to call for carcinogenic nitrites to be removed from processed meats.
In 2015, the World Health Organisation (WHO) classified processed meats as a Group One carcinogen - the same classification as tobacco - and attributed an estimated 34,000 global colorectal cancer deaths a year to diets high in processed meats.
The Coalition Against Nitrites, a new non-profit organisation, launched this week with the backing of three former WHO scientists, a Harvard professor, and the UK's top food safety expert.
Experts backing the campaign include Professor Paolo Vineis from Imperial College London, Professor Denis Corpet from Toulouse University and Professor Robert Turesky from the University of Minnesota.
Other scientific supporters include Professor Walter Willett of Harvard University, who is widely regarded as the world's most influential nutritionist, and Professor Chris Elliott, who founded the Institute for Global Food Security at Queen's University Belfast and led the UK Government's investigation into the 2013 horse meat scandal.
Political supporters of the campaign include Conservative ex-health minister Lord Bethell, Labour's former shadow health minister Sharon Hodgson MP, DUP health spokesman Jim Shannon MP, former Green Party leader Baroness Bennett, former Deputy Mayor of London Baroness Jones, and the former leader of the SDLP, Baroness Ritchie.
Professor Chris Elliott said: 'The UK's departure from the EU has meant we have slipped behind European food standards. The addition of nitrites to processed meats is a major example of what has happened.
'While the EU has sought to protect its consumers with better food safety rules, the UK has dithered, leaving British consumers at greater risk. It is essential the UK keeps pace with the EU's improving food safety rules for the sake of public health.'
Professor Walter Willet from the Harvard School of Public Health, added: 'It is time for governments globally to step in and ban the use of these chemicals - or for food producers to make the right decision for human health and remove these dangerous chemicals themselves from their products.'
The UK Food Standards Agency has previously claimed that nitrites are 'essential' to protect against botulism.
It states: 'Nitrites and nitrates (E 249 – E 252) are used in certain cheeses and processed meats such as bacon, ham, corned beef and other cured meats to help keep it looking red and to aid the development of the 'cured' flavour. However, their main role is to reduce the growth of harmful microorganisms in particular clostridium botulinum, a bacterium that can be life threatening.'
However, the EU has recently tightened regulations on the use of nitrites as food additives in processed meats, lowering the levels at which they are legally permitted to be added. Food businesses have been granted a two-year period to adapt to these new limits, with the regulations becoming fully applicable from October 2025.
The French government has already acknowledged the health risks associated with nitrites in processed meats and has initiated measures to reduce their usage. In March 2023, it unveiled an action plan aiming for an immediate reduction of nitrite additives in deli meats by approximately 20 per cent.
Labour MP Sharon Hodgson, a former shadow health minister, said: 'Knowing what we know today about the health risks of added nitrites, it's time for a serious conversation about the safety of our food.'