Italian food producers'
association Federalimentare said Friday it may sue the World
Health Organization (WHO) for damages after it said eating
processed meat is as carcinogenic as smoking.
In the report released October 26, WHO's International
Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) said every 50-gram portion
of processed or cured meat eaten daily increases the risk of
colon cancer by 18%.
The report also documented links between red meat
consumption and stomach, pancreatic, and prostate cancer.
WHO's IARC classified cured and processed meats in the same
carcinogenic category as asbestos, alcohol, arsenic, plutonium
and tobacco.
Federalimentare said it may sue for damages because WHO's
"imprudent" report has no scientific basis and unfairly
penalized the meat sector.
It cited figures from Italian meat associations Assica and
Assocarni showing consumption of some meat products dropped up
to 17% in the week following the release of the WHO report.
Health Minister Beatrice Lorenzin has said the alarm raised
by the WHO report was "unjustified".
Confagricoltura farmers' association said its impact could
prove worse than the mad cow scare.
Coldiretti farmers' association said some 180,000 Italian
jobs are at risk because of the report.
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