Tag Archives: nitrites

Joan Walmsley writes… We need to remove nitrites from our food

By Joan Walmsley | Fri 16th May 2025 - 12:48 pm

It’s time to fact facts- the UK’s food system is broken, and the food industry is to blame. In addition to failures by successive governments over the last 30 years to reduce obesity rates, get a grip on the advertising of healthy foods, and stop food companies from using misleading labels, there is one major failure which has gone unaddressed for too long – the failure to protect the public from the carcinogenic chemicals being added to our everyday foods.

A clear scientific consensus has developed which shows that nitrites, chemicals which food companies add to processed meats such as bacon and ham to enhance their flavour, colour and shelf life, cause cancer. Globally, around 34,000 cases of colorectal cancer could be prevented each year if these chemicals were phased out of our food chain. Europe has already started doing this, but the UK is falling behind.

With more than 7 million people currently waiting for NHS treatment and cancer care targets continuing to be missed across the board, the UK desperately needs relief from avoidable external factors like nitrites. And given new technologies are now available to produce cured meat products without nitrites, turning a blind eye to this issue is simply not an option – especially at a time when our NHS is facing severe challenges.