A few weeks back, the United Nations specialized World Health Organization dropped a bombshell on all those who love processed meats, saying that they were linked to cancer - now that the first numbers post announcement are in, did the sausage and bacon cancer warning make consumers more wary of these meats?
It seems the sausage and bacon cancer warning from WHO has indeed influenced the way people consume these items, as there has been a massive drop in consumption of processed meats in the weeks since the announcement, according to figures posted by U.K. supermarkets.
According to The Guardian, the figures after the sausage and bacon cancer warning are fairly notorious: pre-packed sausages were down by 15.7 percent by the end of October, while prepared bacon declined further with 17 percent after the International Agency for Research on Cancer compared the carcinogen effect of processed meats to that of smoking.
The Independent reports that, in all, U.K. supermarkets have seen a drop of £3 million (over $4.5 million) in processed meats in the past two weeks since the sausage and bacon cancer warning was released in the late days of October.
"If they determine that red and processed meat causes cancer - and I think they will - that moniker will stick ... It could take decades and billions of dollars to change that," Betsy Booren, of the North American Meat Institute, told the British outlet regarding the future beyond the sausage and bacon cancer warnings.
In the meantime, New Zealand outlet Stuff reports that the processed meats in the Pacific country island haven't faced nearly the same backlash after the WHO announcements, as consumer habits haven't changed much since the warnings.
"Most of the media coverage was factual and put the potential risks into context rather than sensationalizing for effect. It looks like most New Zealanders understand that eating bacon in moderation is fine and that eating too much of any food is not healthy," said New Zealand Food and Grocery Council chief executive Katherine Rich after reporting no noticeable change in demand after the sausage and bacon cancer warnings.
