Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to raise awareness of the heightened risk of cancer arising from the consumption of nitrate-processed meats.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) considers that the scientific evidence currently available is insufficient to identify causation directly between nitrates consumed in processed meat with an increased risk of cancer.

Nitrates serve an important microbiological safety function when added to certain foods at permitted levels. The FSA works closely with the food industry to ensure that nitrates are used at the lowest possible levels to achieve their necessary technological function.