Download Red meat and processed meat: Italy consumes much lower

Red meat and processed meat:
Italy consumes much lower quantities than other countries
 Italians, the second longest-living people in the world, follow the Mediterranean Diet, much more
balanced and sustainable than those of most of the countries considered in the IARC report;
 the amount of red meat and processed meats consumed in Italy are much lower than those
considered in the IARC study (less than half);
 in Italy the quality of processed meats is very different from northern Europe productions;
 Italian farms produce leaner meats and with a better quality than other countries.
According to a IARC press release, published on the 26th October 2015 in the British journal Lancet Oncology,
red meats are included in Group 2A, that is, the group for which the correlation between an excessive
consumption of a substance/food and the onset of tumors in the intestinal tract is considered "probable".
Processed meats, however, are listed among the carcinogens of Group 1.
The amount indicated by the study (100 g per day for red meat and 50 g per day for processed meat) as a
condition for a slight risk increase, is much higher than the average consumption in our country.
Italians eat on average 2 times per week 100 g of red meat (and not every day) and only 25 g of processed
meats per day. The IARC data is more than twice the average consumption in Italy.
Public organizations, medical community and nutrition experts recommend the consumption of all food
categories in order to have a healthy, varied and balanced diet. Among these foods there’s a moderate
consumption of meat products. Meat and processed meats, often subject to prejudices, are indeed
foodswhich contribute to keeping the perfect nutritional balance, guaranteed by the Mediterranean Diet:
they are a good source of both proteins and essential amino acids to be consumed at least twice a week.
Therefore Italian consumers should not change their healthy habits because of the anticipations of the IARC
report. AIRC (Italian Agency for Cancer Research), in reference to these classifications, specifies that "such
studies are performed at very high doses or very long durations of exposure, difficult to replicate in real life"
and that "before getting worried, it's important to know not only in which list some substances are, but what
are the doses and durations of exposure beyond which the risk becomes real and not just theoretical."
http://www.airc.it/cancro/disinformazione/cancerogeni-gruppo-1/
In the case of IARC-WHO report it is necessary to emphasize two things: the first is that the report run on a
global scale, considering therefore very different food contexts from those of the Mediterranean Diet; the
second is that animals bred in Italy are not the same as those raised in other countries or continents.
Because following the Mediterranean Diet, Italians consume on average less meat and processed meats than
their European neighbors, and even less than the Americans (both South and North) or Australians. However
it makes little sense to compare the Italian context to that of other countries when talking about quality,
production methods, controls and in general the characteristics of meat
In the IARC report, especially salt and fats stand accused. It is therefore necessary to clarify that on one hand
the Italian beef has levels of fat content well below the average of the European countries. On the other hand
as to the Italian processed meats, instead, they undergo methods of production and aging, sharpened by
centuries of tradition, which make them completely different from the processed products listed in the
report.
The IARC monograph refers to short data from recent epidemiological studies, furthermore known since
some time, which take little account of the peculiarities of the national production of red meat and processed
meats. It is known that the factors representing a health risk (the presence of fat and plenty of additives in
processed products) are certainly not typical of the Italian production of beef or pig meat products.We hope
not to see the raising of an unjustified alarmism which would risk penalizing one of the key sectors of the
Italian agro-food production. The agro-food sector in Italy represents around 10-15% of the annual GDP, with
a total value of about 180 billion euro. Around 30 billion come from the meat and processed meats sector,
including both the agricultural and industrial production. The sector employs about 125,000 people and - if
you count the satellite activities – the number increases a lot.
There is a wide scientific evidence demonstrating the benefits of meat consumption in an healthy diet.
Meats and processed meats are an essential source of nutrients. They are, in particular, a source of
proteins of high biological value which contribute to increasing and preserving body muscle mass. They are
also a great source of essential amino acids, B vitamins (B1, B3, B6 and B12) and minerals such as
potassium, phosphorus, iron and zinc, which contribute to the normal function of the immune system, and
to maintaining good cognitive development and good cardiac functions. Therefore, red meat and meat
products have a very important nutritional value which can hardly be replaced through the consumption of
all the other products belonging to our daily diet.
ASSICA – Associazione Industriali delle Carni e dei Salumi
Milan office
Milanofiori Strada 4 Palazzo Q8 – 20089 Rozzano (MI)
Tel +39(0)2 8925901 - Fax +39(0)2 57510607 - www.assica.it
Rome office (inside Confindustria building)
V.le Pasteur, 10 – 00144 - Rome
tel +39 06 5915041 - fax +39 06 5915044 - [email protected]
Bruxelles office (inside Confindustria building)
Avenue de la Joyeuse Entrée, 1 – 1040 - Bruxelles
tel 00322 2861223 - fax 00322 2306336 - [email protected]