Dietary intake of different types and characteristics of processed meat which might be associated with cancer risk – results from the 24-hour diet recalls in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (Epic)

Objective There is increasing evidence for a significant effect of processed meat (PM) intake on cancer risk. However, refined knowledge on how components of this heterogeneous food group are associated with cancer risk is still missing. Here, actual data on the intake of PM subcategories is given; within a food-based approach we considered preservation methods, cooking methods and nutrient content for stratification, in order to address most of the aetiologically relevant hypotheses. Design and setting Standardised computerised 24-hour diet recall interviews were collected within the framework of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), a prospective cohort study in 27 centres across 10 European countries. Subjects Subjects were 22 924 women and 13 031 men aged 35–74 years. Results Except for the so-called ‘health-conscious’ cohort in the UK, energy-adjusted total PM intake ranged between 11.1 and 47.9 g day −1 in women and 18.8 and 88.5 g day −1 in men. Ham, salami-type sausages and heated sausages contributed most to the overall PM intake. The intake of cured (addition of nitrate/nitrite) PM was highest in the German, Dutch and northern European EPIC centres, with up to 68.8 g day −1 in men. The same was true for smoked PM (up to 51.8 g day −1 ). However, due to the different manufacturing practice, the highest average intake of NaNO 2 through PM consumption was found for the Spanish centres (5.4 mg day −1 in men) as compared with German and British centres. Spanish centres also showed the highest intake of NaCl-rich types of PM; most cholesterol- and iron-rich PM was consumed in central and northern European centres. Possibly hazardous cooking methods were more often used for PM preparation in central and northern European centres. Conclusions We applied a food-based categorisation of PM that addresses aetiologically relevant mechanisms for cancer development and found distinct differences in dietary intake of these categories of PM across European cohorts. This predisposes EPIC to further investigate the role of PM in cancer aetiology

Biology · Cancer · Environmental health · European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition · Processed meat · Prospective cohort study · Consumer Attitudes and Food Labeling · Medicine · Nutrition, Genetics, and Disease · Nutritional Studies and Diet · Food Science · Internal Medicine

• European citizen and consumer attitudes and preferences regarding beef and pork

  Open Access•Wim Verbeke, Federico J A Pérez-Cueto et al.•Meat Science•2010

  Añadir item

• Changes in dietary habits following temporal migration. The case of international students in Belgium

  Open Access•Federico J A Pérez-Cueto, Federico Perez-Cueto et al.•Appetite•2009

  Añadir item

• European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (Epic)

  Open Access•Elio Riboli, Kelly J Hunt et al.•Public Health Nutrition•2002

  Añadir item

• Maternal cured meat consumption during pregnancy and risk of paediatric brain tumour in offspring

  Open Access•Janice M Pogoda, Susan Preston-Martin et al.•Public Health Nutrition•2001

  Añadir item

• European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (Epic) calibration study

  Open Access•Nadia Slimani, Rudolf Kaaks et al.•Public Health Nutrition•2002

  Añadir item

• Meat consumption in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (Epic) cohorts

  Open Access•Jakob Linseisen, E Kesse et al.•Public Health Nutrition•2002

  Añadir item

• Evaluation of under- and overreporting of energy intake in the 24-hour diet recalls in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (Epic)

  Open Access•Pietro Ferrari, Nadia Slimani et al.•Public Health Nutrition•2002

  Añadir item