Why Are Processed Meats Bad for Health?

Why Are Processed Meats Bad for Health?

Ultra Processed Foods

Processed meats like deli meats are often considered ultra processed foods which contain preservatives and additives and lack essential nutrients, high in calories, leading to imbalanced diets and disruption of gut microbiota

New System Ranks Evidence for Health Risks of Eating Red Meat, Smoking, and  More--But Critics Say It's Overly Simplistic | Scientific American

 

Increased Cancer Risk

Certain chemical processes formed during cooking of meats (especially nitrosamines) have been shown to cause an increased risk of cancer, particularly colorectal cancer.
In fact, cured meats are considered a class 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

8 Key Facts about Colorectal Cancer | Guadalupe Regional Medical Center

Why Do Manufacturers Add Additives to Food Products?

Prolong Shelf Life: Additives like preservatives prevent spoilage and extend the shelf life of products, reducing food waste. There is a demand from end customers for this, and thus retailers and supermarkets demand this from manufacturers.

Have appealing, familiar textures:
Additives can improve taste, texture, colour, and appearance of foods, making them more appealing to consumers. Very few people will choose a grey looking packet of bacon on the supermarket shelves, no matter if it’s claiming “No Nitrites added”!

Cost savings:
Additives often streamline production processes and allow manufacturers to reduce the use of more expensive ingredients (e.g. meat) , allowing them to meet the big consumer demand of reducing prices
Especially in recent times, manufacturers and retailers face even greater pressure to reduce prices as inflation has increased.


While these additives serve various purposes, excessive use or reliance on them can lead to concerns about their long-term health impacts, prompting consumers to seek out foods with fewer additives and more natural ingredients.

Hence, Jill’s Sausages’ philosophy of not adding any chemical additives but only using all-natural ingredients and having as short an ingredient list as possible without compromising on the experience of customers.

Stay tuned to our next series to find out how we do this!

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