{"entity":{"id":"red-processed-meat-reduction","kind":"technology","name":"Red and processed meat reduction","aka":[],"tldr":"Processed meat (bacon, ham, sausages) is classed by IARC as a definite cause of bowel cancer and red meat as a probable one, with about 18% higher risk per 50 g of processed meat a day. One person's extra lifetime risk is a few percentage points, but 5 to 10% of bowel cancers in high-income countries are attributed to it.","summary":"IARC classified processed meat as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1) and red meat as probably carcinogenic (Group 2A) in 2015, based on colorectal cancer: about 18% higher risk per 50 g/day of processed meat and 17% per 100 g/day of red meat in meta-analyses of cohorts. Absolute risk increase for an individual is a few percentage points of lifetime colorectal risk; the population-attributable fraction in high-income countries is around 5-10% of colorectal cancers. Mechanisms include N-nitroso compounds from nitrite curing, haem iron promoting endogenous nitrosation and lipid peroxidation, and heterocyclic amines from high-temperature cooking. WCRF recommends limiting red meat to about three portions (350-500 g cooked) per week and eating little if any processed meat. The 2019 NutriRECS guidelines that advised continuing current consumption drew widespread criticism for applying drug-trial evidence standards to dietary epidemiology, illustrating the recurring dispute about how much certainty diet advice needs.","status":"established","asOf":"2026-09-08","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_meat#Health_effects","links":[{"label":"IARC Monograph 114: red and processed meat (Lancet Oncol 2015)","url":"https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(15)00444-1"}],"tags":[],"related":[],"cancers":["colorectal","gastric","pancreatic","prostate"],"sections":["nutrition-lifestyle","prevention"],"technologies":["mediterranean-plant-forward-diet","colorectal-screening"],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":["iarc"],"pathways":[],"terms":["dietary-pattern-scores","ultra-processed-food"],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":["b-prevention-adoption","b-misinformation"],"keyPapers":["paper-bouvard-lancet-oncol"],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"principle":"Nitrosamines, haem iron and heterocyclic amines cause DNA alkylation and oxidative damage in colonic epithelium; the exposure is chronic and cumulative.","strengths":["IARC Group 1 classification with coherent mechanism","Consistent dose-response across cohorts","Reduction aligns with cardiovascular and climate goals"],"limitations":["Individual relative risks are modest and hard to communicate","Confounding with overall diet quality","Policy tools (labelling, reformulation) under-used"]},"route":"/technologies/red-processed-meat-reduction/","neighbours":{"cancer":[{"id":"colorectal","kind":"cancer","name":"Colorectal cancer","route":"/cancers/colorectal/"},{"id":"gastric","kind":"cancer","name":"Gastric & gastro-oesophageal junction cancer","route":"/cancers/gastric/"},{"id":"pancreatic","kind":"cancer","name":"Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma","route":"/cancers/pancreatic/"},{"id":"prostate","kind":"cancer","name":"Prostate cancer","route":"/cancers/prostate/"}],"section":[{"id":"nutrition-lifestyle","kind":"section","name":"Diet, Exercise & Lifestyle","route":"/fronts/nutrition-lifestyle/"},{"id":"prevention","kind":"section","name":"Prevention & Risk","route":"/fronts/prevention/"}],"technology":[{"id":"colorectal-screening","kind":"technology","name":"Colorectal cancer screening (colonoscopy, FIT, stool DNA, blood)","route":"/technologies/colorectal-screening/"},{"id":"mediterranean-plant-forward-diet","kind":"technology","name":"Mediterranean and plant-forward dietary patterns","route":"/technologies/mediterranean-plant-forward-diet/"},{"id":"ultra-processed-food-ssb","kind":"technology","name":"Ultra-processed food and sugar-sweetened drinks","route":"/technologies/ultra-processed-food-ssb/"}],"institution":[{"id":"iarc","kind":"institution","name":"International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC / WHO)","route":"/institutions/iarc/"}],"term":[{"id":"dietary-pattern-scores","kind":"term","name":"Dietary pattern scores (Mediterranean, HEI, AHEI, DASH, WCRF/AICR)","route":"/terms/dietary-pattern-scores/"},{"id":"ultra-processed-food","kind":"term","name":"Ultra-processed food (NOVA group 4)","route":"/terms/ultra-processed-food/"}],"bottleneck":[{"id":"b-misinformation","kind":"bottleneck","name":"Misinformation and unproven therapies","route":"/bottlenecks/b-misinformation/"},{"id":"b-prevention-adoption","kind":"bottleneck","name":"Prevention we already have is not deployed","route":"/bottlenecks/b-prevention-adoption/"}],"paper":[{"id":"paper-bouvard-lancet-oncol","kind":"paper","name":"Carcinogenicity of consumption of red and processed meat","route":"/key-papers/paper-bouvard-lancet-oncol/"}],"idea":[{"id":"idea-nl-upf-controlled-feeding-trial","kind":"idea","name":"Controlled feeding trials to separate ultra-processing from calories","route":"/ideas/idea-nl-upf-controlled-feeding-trial/"}],"roadmap":[{"id":"nutrition-lifestyle-roadmap","kind":"roadmap","name":"Diet, exercise and lifestyle roadmap: causes established → interventions that disappointed → exercise proven as treatment","route":"/roadmaps/nutrition-lifestyle-roadmap/"}]}}