They are responsible for 4,000 new cases of cancer each year in France. On World Cancer Day this Tuesday, the NGO Foodwatch, the nutritional application Yuka and the League against cancer are hammering out the importance of banning the added nitrites in our food. The three organizations launched a petition last November to demand a ban on the additives E249, E250, E251 and E252, which are controversial for their health effects. Nearly 180,000 citizens have already signed it and ask the Minister of Health Agnès Buzyn to act.
12,000 products with nitrites on sale
These additives are present in more than 12,000 products for sale in France and, according to the latest scientific work, cause thousands of stomach or colon cancers which are attributable to the consumption of meat processed by treatment with nitrites. . They are found in particular in cold meats, and more specifically in ham. They are used to keep the sausage for a longer time, but above all to give this beautiful pink hue.
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The "near certainty" of the link between nitrites and cancer
And as consumers are used to this color, many manufacturers therefore continue to use these nitrites. Except that for a few years, the link between these food additives and the appearance of cancers is more than probable. "Nitritized meats cause more colorectal cancers than the others," said the president of the League against cancer Axel Kahn at the Europe 1 microphone. "We have accumulated a huge amount of data, and what was an alert today is almost a certainty: we must act."
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Faced with this phenomenon, it is more and more common to read "hams without nitrites" added on the trays of supermarkets. It has even become a selling point for some manufacturers. But for Foodwatch, Yuka and the League against cancer, we must go even faster on this issue.