Bowel cancer risk from processed meat - such as bacon, sausages and ham, is small but increases with the amount consumed, according to the World Health Organisation.
Its report said 50g of processed meat a day - less than two slices of bacon - increased the chance of developing colorectal cancer by 18%.
Meanwhile, it said red meats were "probably carcinogenic" but there was limited evidence.
Jim McLaren, Chairman of Quality Meat Scotland (QMS), said it is important to note that the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) report also clearly recognises the nutritional benefits of eating red meat.
“Avoiding red meat could in fact be detrimental to health – for example around 40% of women and teenage girls have iron intakes which are too low. Red meat is a natural source of protein, iron, zinc and B vitamins and we should continue to enjoy it in the knowledge that it plays a vital role in our diets,” Mr McLaren added.
Cancer Research UK stated: "A prolonged high-meat diet isn’t terribly good for you. But a steak, bacon sandwich or sausage bap a few times a week probably isn’t much to worry about. And overall the risks are much lower than for other things linked to cancer – such as smoking."
Maureen Strong, Nutrition Manager at AHDB stated: “IARC isn’t saying eating red and processed meat as part of a balanced diet causes cancer: no single food causes cancer. Nor is it saying it’s as dangerous as smoking, which Cancer Research UK has pointed out today. IAR C itself has said that the risk from processed meat remains small.
“The government looked at the same evidence in 2010 and recommended people eat no more than 70g of red and processed meat a day: and that’s exactly what the vast majority of us are eating. The government has already said that this advice is not changing. IARC’s findings suggest that eating 50g of processed meat brings a small increase in risk. However average consumption in the UK is just 17g per day. People would need to eat three times their current levels to increase their risk.
"There’s no evidence that removing meat from your diet protects against cancer. In fact a major, long term study by Oxford University has shown no difference in colorectal cancer rates between meat eaters and vegetarians.”
Campaigners including Friends of the Earth (FOTE) said the report should come as a ‘wake-up call’ that diets ‘urgently need to change’.
World Health Organisation attributes about 34,000 deaths a year to eating high levels of processed meat. However, smoking kills one million people a year and alcohol is linked to 600,000 deaths annually.
