Led by Mathilde Touvier of Paris’s Sorbonne Cité Epidemiology and Statistics Research Centre, the study found that “additives in ready meals, packaged snacks and shop-bought cakes may combine to trigger the disease” and are “over and above the harmful effects of the sugar and fat (highly processed food) contains,” The Times reported.
Explaining her theory, Dr. Touvier said: “In Europe we have over 400 authorised additives. Most of them are probably safe - but if it is due to some additives, we have to say which ones.”
“The results suggest it would be better to eat raw or minimally processed food… It may be in the future we could say that many ultra-processed foods don’t have any risks and it’s just this one or [that] one. But for the moment we would apply the principle of precaution.”
While the research – undertaken on 105,000 people aged 18 an over – revealed that the quarter of respondents who ate the most “ultra-processed” food were 23% more likely to get any type of cancer than the quarter who ate the least, it “cannot prove that the processing of food directly increases cancer risk.”
The Times also said that “the cancer risk could be even greater in (Britain)” following news last week that half of the food bought in the country is made in a factory.
Linda Bauld of Cancer Research UK, added: “People should not worry about eating a bit of processed food here and there. But there is good evidence that too little fruit, vegetables and fibre and too much processed and red meat in our diets can contribute to the development of some types of cancer. ”