On the occasion of World Cancer Day, La ligue contre le cancer, Yuka and Foodwatch are calling for a ban on nitrites in deli meats. These additives, present especially in ham, promote colon and stomach cancers.
For the three organizations, it is a public health issue. The Yuka application, the NGO Foodwatch and the League against cancer have renewed their call on the Minister of Health, Agnès Buzyn, to act and ban the addition of nitrites in food. These additives are thought to be responsible for 4,000 colorectal cancers each year.
Additives present in 12,000 sales products
Last November, the three organizations launched a petition demanding a ban on the additives E249 (potassium nitrite), E250 (sodium nitrite), E251 (sodium nitrate) and E252 (potassium nitrate). Today, it has more than 180,000 signatures. These additives are present in charcuterie and more specifically ham where they allow better preservation and give it its pink tint. In total, nearly 12,000 products sold in France contain these nitrites.
The #nitrites promote the appearance of #Cancer colorectal.
???? Mrs @agnesbuzyn, you must ban their addition to our diet! It is a public health issue.#WorldCancerDay ???? with @YukaApp and @laliguecancer pic.twitter.com/Rh3VtCmB2B— foodwatch France (@foodwatch_fr) February 4, 2020
A call from the mayors
The link between colorectal cancers and these nitrites seems obvious. “We have accumulated a lot of data, and what was an alert is now a virtual certainty: we must act,” says Axel Kahn, president of the League against cancer, at the microphone ofEuropean 1. “When ingested, they can contribute to the formation of carcinogenic compounds in our stomach: nitrosamines”, specify the three organizations in the petition. “These substances are classified as probable human carcinogens (category 2A) by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), because they promote the development of colorectal cancer, the second deadliest cancer after lung cancer. and stomach cancer.”
1er last February, 27 candidate mayors from all political persuasions launched an appeal in the Sunday newspaper “for nitrite-free canteens”. From mid-February, MP Richard Ramos, who launched this appeal, will chair a fact-finding mission on this issue. While the National Assembly rejected a parliamentary initiative aimed at implementing a tax on nitrite salts in charcuterie, the signatory mayors pledged to remove nitrite foods from their canteens.
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