THE EU’s “lousy” food regulations are being blamed for allowing additives that can cause cancer to be added to bacon and ham.
Nitrites are added because of rules on cured meat imposed by Brussels.
Senior MPs are calling on the Government to have them removed from all processed foods now Britain has taken back control of our own laws.
The additives are used to help preserve and add flavour but a growing number of scientists say that when cooked and eaten they produce carcinogens which can cause bowel cancer.
Nitrites could cause an extra 34,000 deaths a year worldwide, according to a World Health Organisation report. This equates to an estimated 6,600 annual UK bowel cancer deaths.
The new claims are laid bare in a bombshell book, Who Poisoned Your Bacon Sandwich?, published by a Frenchman this week. Guillaume Coudray says French archive documents prove Euro “harmonisation” forced France to allow nitrites despite alerts from its health watchdogs.
The author now hails Brexit as a golden opportunity for Britain to scrap “unsafe” regulations he says are costing lives.
The claims sparked fresh calls for a UK ban on nitrite-cured meat. Former Brexit minister David Jones said: “Project Fear claimed Brexit would allow dangerous food into Britain and the EU’s standards were vital. This reveals EU standards are by no means world-leading.”
NHS and Harley Street specialist Dr Aseem Malhotra says it’s “further evidence there needs to be a nitrite-free revolution”.
