Food scientists have successfully created a new type of bacon that has a reduced cancer risk. In collaboration with Spanish chemists, British food manufacturers Finnebrogue claim to have produced the…

Food scientists have successfully created a new type of bacon that has a reduced cancer risk.

In collaboration with Spanish chemists, British food manufacturers Finnebrogue claim to have produced the world’s first bacon that does not include nitrites from vegetables or curing agents.

The reason nitrites are usually added to cured meat is to give it its characteristic pink colour and texture, as well as provide flavour and also act as a preservative. 

Current guidance from the World Health Organisation (WHO) states that processed meats like bacon, when cured with nitrites, is in the same category as asbestos and smoking because nitrites produce carcinogenic nitrosamines when ingested.

Food scientists have been able to create bacon that tastes as good as the meat using a unique blend of Mediterranean spice extracts, following 10 years of research and development.

The new product, Naked Bacon, could be a game-changer once it hits shelves on 10 January.