The hot dog bar will continue to operate in the Syracuse University dining halls despite a recent study from the World Health Organization that says consuming processed meats increases the risk of cancer.

The study, which was released on Oct. 26, revealed that eating 50 grams of processed meat on a daily basis increases the risk of developing cancer by 18 percent.  Processed meats include sausage, bacon, hot dogs and hamburgers containing salt and chemical preservatives. Fifty grams of bacon, for example, is only two slices.

The WHO advises certain meat eaters to limit their consumption.

The food centers on SU campus will continue to serve these foods to the university’s students, but support healthier alternatives, said Lynne Mowers, secretary to the director of SU Food Services.

“We encourage our students to weigh their options and make well-informed decisions,” Mowers said.

The study specifically pinpoints unusual risk for colorectal cancer, but risk for pancreatic and prostate cancer are also possibilities.

“It is likely there is good evidence,” said Tanya Horacek, a professor in the department of public health, food studies and nutrition in the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, of the study. Horacek said she expects Americans to continue to eat processed meats despite the risk.

It isn’t necessary to become a vegetarian, Horacek said, but to simply have caution and eat a mixed diet. She added that people should increase their fruit, vegetable and antioxidant intake, and decrease their consumption of processed meats.

International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) divides cancer risk factors into four hierarchal groups. Processed meat was recently added to Group 1, the highest group, which is labeled as “carcinogenic to humans,” according to the IARC website.

Taking a slight backseat behind processed meat is red meat. Joining Group 2A alongside the agents that are “probably carcinogenic to humans,” red meats were listed as another food which should not be consumed excessively, according to the IARC website.

The North American Meat Institute (NAMI), a trade association that is responsible for processing 95 percent of red meat and 70 percent of turkey products dispersed throughout the United States, upholds this same claim about a mixed diet, according to a press release from the association.

Unlike several health professionals, NAMI does not trust the credibility of the research, according to a press release from the organization, according to the release.

Betsy Booren, vice president of scientific affairs at NAMI, said in the release she doubted the study because the WHO has previously added the occupation of hairdressing as a Group 2A carcinogen and aloe vera as a Group 2B carcinogen.

NAMI believes that the vote from IARC “defies both common sense and numerous studies showing no correlation between meat and cancer,” according to the release.

Jane Uzcategui, an instructor in the department of public health, food studies and nutrition advised consumers to occasionally replace their processed meats and red meats with tofu, beans and tempeh in an SU News release. She said red meats and processed meats are also higher in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium, which are nutrients “many Americans get in excess.”

Published on November 4, 2015 at 9:17 pm

Contact Kenneth: kmintz@syr.edu