Sandwich meat off school lunch menu
Parents should avoid putting ham or salami in their children's school
lunches because processed meat increases the risk of cancer, experts are
warning.
The World Cancer Research Fund wants families instead to use poultry,
fish, low-fat cheese, hummus or small amounts of lean meat as sandwich
fillings.
Children should avoid eating processed meat |
Children should avoid eating processed meat altogether because
unhealthy habits acquired while young could have serious consequences
later, the fund said.
"'Including sandwich fillers such as ham and salami could mean
children get into habits that increase their risk of developing cancer
later in life",' the charity said.
"'It makes sense for children to adopt a healthy adult eating pattern
from the age of five". The fund said it was best to avoid processed meat
and "'many of the habits we develop as children last into adulthood".
In 2007 the charity said there was convincing scientific evidence
that consumption of processed meat increases the risk of bowel cancer,
and it recommended people eat no more than 70g of processed meat, the
equivalent of three rashers of bacon, a week.
Marni Craze, the charity's children's education manager, said, "'If
children have processed meat in their lunch every day then over the
course of a school year they will be eating quite a lot of it. It is
better if children learn to view processed meat as an occasional treat".
The charity also wants parents to avoid giving their children
high-fat or high-calorie foods in their packed lunches, such as sugary
drinks, because they could help make them overweight.
John Bullock, of BPEX, which represents British meat producers, said,
"The amounts of these products in children's lunchboxes will be very
small. The (fund's) global study in 2007 said there may be a link
between eating processed meat and the risk of cancer, but we need more
scientific evidence to tell us whether or not that's the case".
Sydney Morning Herald |