Meat + Poultry - December 2015 - 14

NEWS PERSPECTIVE

IARC report reaction:
negligible
Smithfield Food's bacon operations didn't come to a crawl
in the days following Oct. 26, when the World Health
Organization's (WHO) International Agency for Research
on Cancer (IARC) issued a report that processed meat is
"carcinogenic" and that red meat is "probably carcinogenic."
It was business as usual at Smithfield, not to mention other
meat and poultry operations throughout the country.

report, which concluded that each 50-gram portion of
processed meat eaten daily increases an individual's risk
of colorectal cancer by 18 percent. Examples given by the
IARC included bacon, hot dogs, ham, sausages, corned
beef, beef jerky and other items.
"I think consumers are so tired of the good news/bad
news stuff when it comes to food that they may be tuning
it out," Riley added.
In the wake of the report, Riley said NAMI has been
providing good information about the nutrition benefits of
meat using its revamped website, meatpoultrynutrition.org.
Merritt said consumers are intelligent enough to
understand general health guidelines, like what foods are
good and bad for them.
"I know that consumers get a lot of stuff thrown
at them," Merritt added. "Whether they are actually
processing all these things and know what to believe or
what not to believe...There's so much that comes at you
every day."

Photo: Shutterstock

TAKING ANOTHER LOOK

"I think consumers are so tired of
the good news/bad news stuff when it
comes to food that they may be tuning
it out." - JANET RILEY, NAMI
"To be honest, I don't think there is a lot there," Mike
Merritt, senior director of retail brand marketing for
Smithfield, said of the report about two weeks after it hit
the news. "There hasn't been any impact that I've seen [in
Smithfield's operations.]"
Some industry news outlets sensationalized the
potential backlash, in one case predicting a sweeping
damage control campaign. But Janet Riley, senior vice
president of public affairs for the North American Meat
Institute (NAMI), said there would be no such campaign.
"That is currently not planned," she added. "It appears
that consumer confidence is strong. But we will monitor
it closely."
Riley said there was limited reaction to the IARC

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MEAT+ POULTRY | 12.15 | www.meatpoultry.com

Four days after its initial report, the WHO announced
plans to re-examine the role of processed meats and
red meat in a healthy diet. In a statement, the WHO said
IARC's review confirms the recommendation in WHO's
2002 "Diet, nutrition and the prevention of chronic
diseases" report, which advised moderate consumption
of preserved meat to reduce the risk of cancer. "The latest
IARC review does not ask people to stop eating processed
meats but indicates that reducing consumption of these
products can reduce the risk of colorectal cancer," the
WHO stated.
Darren Seifer, food and beverage industry analyst for
the NPD Group, a Port Washington, NY-based market
research firm that tracks eating attitudes and behaviors,
said it is possible that some people will cut back on
processed meat and red meat, but it's a longshot. "If
history is any indicator, we will likely see little to no
difference in the consumption of these products," he said.
In 2002, Seifer said the American Cancer Society
issued a similar study linking processed meat and red
meat consumption to cancer. "But we saw no discernible
difference in how often processed meat and red meat was
eaten before and after that announcement," Seifer said.
http://www.meatpoultrynutrition.org http://www.meatpoultry.com
Meat + Poultry - December 2015

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