Does bacon cause cancer? Five things you need to do to eat bacon healthily

In my country, bacon is a delicacy with a unique flavor. According to Chinese traditional customs, people usually make bacon in the twelfth lunar month as a food to celebrate the Spring Festival, so it is also called "bacon".

In the past, when food resources were scarce, people would make meat into bacon, which has a long storage period, in case of emergency. Now, bacon has become a common delicacy on the table with its unique flavor.

Recently, someone in Hunan spent 100 yuan to buy a piece of 12-year-old bacon and posted a short video. The video has received a lot of attention on the short video platform. Because the bacon has been stored for too long, molds of various colors have grown on the surface, which are clearly visible to the naked eye, and it looks "inedible". However, because the man was curious about the taste of the bacon, he cooked and ate it after various treatments, and frequently said "It smells good, really good!".

▲Video screenshot

Many netizens are beginning to get anxious: Can bacon still be eaten after such an age? Why is bacon more fragrant than normal meat? I heard that bacon causes cancer, is that true? In this article, we will talk about bacon and give some suggestions to friends who love bacon.

01

Why does bacon have a unique taste?

Friends who have eaten bacon know that compared with the fried meat and stewed meat we usually eat, the flavor of bacon is simply unique and the aroma is tempting.

Bacon is a traditional meat product made after processing meat. In order to prolong the shelf life of meat, people marinate livestock and poultry meat or their edible by-products with salt, sauces, spices and food additives, and then use natural climate to air-dry, smoke or bake it.

The color of bacon will change during the production and storage process, and it will gradually develop a unique flavor.

The color change is related to lipid oxidation and myoglobin degradation. The Maillard reaction also occurs during the smoking process, which gives the bacon its color.

The attractive flavor of bacon mainly comes from two aspects. First, protein oxidation degradation, lipid oxidation degradation and microbial fermentation will produce unique flavor substances. The oxidation of fat will produce aldehydes, which are the main flavor substances of bacon. Some aldehyde compounds have lemon and grass aromas.

Secondly, most bacon will be smoked, and the burning of wood during the smoking process will also give the bacon a special flavor. For example, the burning of lignin during the smoking process will produce phenolic substances, which provide the bacon with a special medicinal and clove flavor; the burning of cellulose in the wood will also produce furan compounds, providing it with bean aroma, fruity aroma, mud aroma, and green aroma.

Therefore, bacon is very delicious whether it smells or tastes good.

02

Does bacon have a shelf life? Is it better the longer it lasts?

Many people think that bacon has a low moisture content and no shelf life, and the longer it is stored, the better it tastes. In fact, this is not the case. Bacon also has an optimal storage period.

The moisture content of bacon is generally 25% or even lower. Low moisture content limits the growth of many microorganisms, so the storage time is longer. People often hang the prepared bacon on beams or racks to dry and store it. This exposed storage method not only has the problem of microbial contamination, but is also easily bitten by insects and rodents such as mice. Not only is it easy to damage the appearance, but it is also easy to spread bacteria.

The acid value and peroxide value of bacon stored for a long time will gradually increase, and excessive oxidation of fat will produce a rancid taste, deteriorate color, reduce quality, and reduce edible value. It may also contain pathogens that are pathogenic to the human body and produce toxins that are difficult to remove with general sterilization methods.

In addition, bacon products contain many fungal toxins, which are generally present on the surface or shallow layer of the bacon. However, some fungal toxins with lower molecular weight or lipophilicity may diffuse into the interior of the bacon. The higher the fat content and the longer the storage time, the more serious the diffusion.

Generally speaking, the shelf life of bacon stored at room temperature is 6 to 10 months, and it is best eaten within 4 months. If stored in a refrigerator at low temperature, the shelf life can reach 8 to 12 months.

However, the environmental conditions of homemade bacon are difficult to control. If the production process is not done properly, it may directly lead to bacterial growth. Clostridium botulinum can grow in food without oxygen and low acidity and produce deadly toxins, but it will not cause the food to deteriorate significantly. If you like to eat bacon, it is recommended to buy bacon produced by regular manufacturers, which is safer and has a shelf life of 6 months.

▲Picture: E-commerce platform

03

Just clean it, cook it and eat it?

Some people will directly clean the moldy bacon and then cook it and eat it, thinking that it is safe. I suggest you don't do this!

For bacon within the shelf life, if the mold is on the surface, you can scrape off the mold on the surface, cut off the surface meat, and then cook it at high temperature before eating. If the mold has reached the deeper layer visible to the naked eye, the whole thing should be discarded and cannot be eaten.

But the problem is that some molds that have reached a deep layer may not be discernible to the naked eye, posing a risk of food poisoning. Some molds are difficult to kill at high temperatures. For example, aflatoxin needs to be above 280 degrees Celsius to break down, and the highest cooking temperature is only 100 degrees Celsius. The temperature for cooking is 160-200 degrees Celsius, and ordinary cooking temperatures cannot kill it.

Therefore, to be on the safe side, if the bacon is severely moldy or has passed its optimal storage period, it is best not to eat it.

04

Is it true that bacon causes cancer?

Bacon is a processed meat product and is often reported to be "carcinogenic". This is not "groundless". The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) under the World Health Organization has long classified processed meat products such as bacon, sausage, and ham as Class 1 carcinogens. In other words: there is currently sufficient evidence to show that eating these processed meat products frequently can cause cancer in humans.

There are many carcinogens in bacon, such as nitrite, nitrosamine, benzopyrene, formaldehyde, etc.

Among them, nitrite is a common ingredient in making bacon. Its main function is to develop and protect the color and inhibit botulinum toxin. It is not carcinogenic in itself, but it reacts with amines or amides in meat to form nitroso compounds - nitrosamines, which become carcinogenic. After nitrite is eaten by us, it will also generate nitrosamines under the environment of gastric acid. After the bacon is smoked, the smoking process will cause the bacon to contain benzopyrene, which is classified as a strong carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Smoking will also cause a layer of formaldehyde to adhere to the surface of the bacon, which is also a carcinogen.

Smoked meat may cause cancer | Tuchong Creative

However, although bacon is classified as a carcinogen, it does not mean that eating it will cause cancer. If you like to eat bacon, control the amount you eat and eat it occasionally.

In addition, the salt content of bacon is not low, basically above 6%. This means that even if you eat 50 grams of bacon (about the amount of two fingers), you may ingest 3 grams of salt.

The "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents" recommends that the daily salt intake of Chinese residents should not exceed 5 grams, which is about less than the amount of a beer bottle cap (containing a rubber pad). 50 grams of bacon can intake 3 grams of salt. If you eat other dishes, it is easy to exceed the salt intake throughout the day. Long-term high-salt diet not only increases the risk of high blood pressure, but also increases the risk of gastric cancer.

05

Can I eat bacon to lose weight?

Faced with the tempting bacon, many people who are trying to lose weight are "daunted", fearing that they will gain weight after eating it.

The fat content of bacon is indeed not low. According to the data in the latest edition of "Chinese Food Composition Table", the fat content of raw bacon can reach 48.8%, which means that even if you only eat a 50-gram piece of bacon, you can ingest 24 grams of fat, which is 7.7 times the same weight of lean pork. Therefore, if you are trying to control your weight, you really have to eat less.

06

How to eat bacon healthily?

Although eating bacon often is not good for your health, it is really delicious. For foodies, it is really hard to give up! You don’t have to give up bacon if you love it. Refer to the following suggestions to eat it relatively healthily and reduce the harm of bacon to your body.

① Soak it before cooking: The harmful substances in bacon are mainly on the surface. Before eating bacon, you need to scrape off the mold on the surface, cut off some meat on the surface, and then soak it in clean water. This can reduce the amount of carcinogens and nitrites.

② Pay attention to the cooking method: Bacon itself is high in oil and salt, so you should try to avoid frying or deep-frying. Frying will not only make bacon more unhealthy, but also generate more nitrosamines at high temperatures. It is recommended to cook bacon by steaming, boiling or stewing. If you are stewing bacon, it is best not to drink the soup.

③Pair with fresh fruits and vegetables: Vitamin C, mineral calcium, chlorophyll and polyphenol compounds in fruits and vegetables can inhibit the formation of nitrosamines or other carcinogens and reduce the risk of cancer.

④ Use spices: Natural spices not only enhance the flavor of dishes, they also contain antioxidant ingredients such as polyphenols and flavonoids, which are helpful for anti-oxidation, antibacterial and anti-cancer, such as garlic, cloves, cinnamon, cinnamon, pepper, ginger, black cumin, etc. In addition, studies have shown that adding spices when curing bacon can reduce the formation of heterocyclic amines and also has a preservative effect.

⑤ Eat less: It is recommended to control the amount between 40 and 75 grams each time. 50 grams is about the amount of two fingers. If you have high blood pressure, high blood fat, diabetes and other diseases, you should try not to eat it.

Summarize:

Although bacon is delicious, it is a processed meat product. For the sake of health, you still have to control the amount you eat. Not only bacon, but also ham, bacon, and sausage should be eaten less!

Author | Xue Qingxin, member of Chinese Nutrition Society, registered dietitian, health manager, public nutritionist

Review | Gao Chao, Associate Researcher, Institute of Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention

References:

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Produced by: Science Popularization China-Creation Cultivation Program