Edited by
Editorial Staff
Is cooked ham carcinogenic? The news has circulated widely again, but this is not a new decision by the World Health Organization. In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified processed meat as Group 1, a category for agents for which there is sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in humans.
Processed meat is defined as meat that has been transformed through processes such as salting, curing, fermentation, smoking, or other treatments designed to improve preservation or modify flavor. The category therefore includes a variety of products, including ham, cured meats, sausages, and frankfurters.
What Does “Group 1 Carcinogen” Mean?
One crucial detail is that being included in the same IARC group does not mean that all agents in the category carry the same level of risk.
The IARC classification indicates the strength of the scientific evidence that an exposure can cause cancer, rather than ranking substances or products according to how dangerous they are.
For example, processed meat and tobacco smoking are both classified in Group 1, but this does not mean that eating processed meat carries the same cancer risk as smoking. The classification addresses the evidence for carcinogenicity, not the size of
