28th October, 2015
ICSA president Patrick Kent has said that consumers should not be overly concerned following the publication of a World Health Organisation (WHO) report which states that red and processed meats can increase the risk of cancer. “Ireland produces the best grass fed beef in the world. We cannot allow this message from the WHO to be taken out of context and be used to scaremonger consumers”.
“The benefits of eating red meat are well known as it is an important source of protein, iron and vitamins. Eating sensibly and eating things in moderation are the key points in all recent public-health messages on diet,” continued Mr. Kent.
In fact, research has demonstrated that grass-fed beef is higher in conjugated linoleic acids which confer many health benefits including anti-cancer properties, as well as being helping to counteract obesity, heart disease and diabetes.
There is a need to be careful about the myriad of reports that come out almost on a weekly basis which give guidance on food. We were told that butter was bad for you and margarine good; now the opposite is actually considered the truth.
In reality, in the developed west, there are a lot more pressing dietary issues to be confronted by a population where obesity and bad diet is reaching epidemic proportions. “The WHO report may be useful if it shines a light on highly processed foods which have been subjected to all sorts of processes and subjected the addition of dubious flavourings and colourings. Instead of being concerned about a healthy food such as grass fed meat, consumers need to focus on the real problems such as high levels of added sugar and the widespread use of high fructose corn syrup.”
“WHO has not proven that consumption of red meat as part of a carefully balanced diet causes cancer and consumers must be cautious not to over-react to this report,” concluded Mr Kent.
Ends
