Hooray! Your hangover-busting bacon sarnie could soon be better for you, as scientists have created a new type of bacon that has reduced the cancer risk associated with the meat.
The new bacon type free from preservatives, curing agents and nitrates, will hit supermarkets within the next few weeks, with the Naked Bacon product appearing on shelves at Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Tesco from 10 January.
In 2015, the World Health Organisation said that processed meats such as bacon - which, when cured, contain cancer-causing nitrates - are as bad for you as smoking. The WHO stated the meat fell in the same category as asbestos as nitrates produce carcinogenic nitrosamines when ingested.
The reason nitrites are usually added to cured meat is to give it its characteristic pink colour, texture, some flavour and also act as a preservative.
But Finnebrogue, the food manufacturer behind the new product, say that by using a unique blend of Mediterranean spice extracts, following ten years of research and development, they have been able to create bacon that tastes as good as the meat we all know and love, but without the health risks.
Nutrition experts have said it’s a welcome change, but it doesn’t mean we should all start eating more of it.
Prof Chris Elliott, who led the inquiry into the horsemeat scandal, said: “To have a bacon produced naturally, that doesn’t require such chemicals to be added or formed during processing, is a very welcome development.”
What do you reckon? Will you be buying the stuff? Some people are happy about it…
But others not so much.
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.