UK supermarkets are experiencing a significant decline in bacon sales, driven by consumer fears that chemicals used to preserve the product increase cancer risks. New data released by the Coalition Against Nitrites reveals that the value of nitrite-cured bacon sales fell by 7.3% during the 12 weeks to January 25 compared to the same period last year. In the most recent period, such sales amounted to £238.4 million, down £18.7 million from the £257 million recorded a year earlier.

Conversely, sales of nitrite-free bacon rose by 21.7% in that quarter, reaching £9.4 million. A campaign spokesperson stated: "£18.7 million has been wiped off nitrite-cured bacon sales in just three months. That's not a fluctuation, it's a consumer revolt. Shoppers do not want additives in their food."

In 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared processed meat, including bacon, a cause of cancer, similar to smoking and asbestos. Since then, the vast majority of bacon sold in the UK has still been treated with nitrites to maintain its pink color, but campaigners claim a "dramatic market shift" is underway. Professor Chris Elliott, a leading food safety expert and part of the Coalition, said: "Consumers are moving first, responding to the overwhelming scientific evidence linking nitrite-cured meats to cancer and the realization that these chemicals simply don't need to be used to make the bacon and ham that so many of us love to eat."

Labour, Conservative, Green, Liberal Democrat, and Democratic Unionist MPs and peers back the coalition's campaign to persuade ministers to order the phased-out use of nitrites in meat. Elliott added: "The use of carcinogenic nitrites is increasingly out of step with public expectations. This is no longer a fringe issue. It is a mainstream market correction, backed by cross-party political support."

However, the Food Standards Agency maintains that the link between nitrites and health "remains inconclusive." Nick Allen, CEO of the British Meat Processors Association, emphasized that the decision to use nitrites rests with individual bacon producers, noting that processors have been working for years to reduce nitrite levels without jeopardizing public health.

Source: www.theguardian.com