What's in your bacon and ham?

Percentage of pork

It’s a good idea to check a product’s ingredients list for its percentage of pork. Gould’s Sandwich Ham says it’s only 48 percent pork. The bacons we looked at ranged from 75 to 95 percent pork.

Not all products list meat-content information, as bacon and ham are exempt from this Food Standards Code requirement. We’d like to see the exemption removed. Then consumers will know what they’re paying for.

Additives

Processed meats are strong on additives. All the products in our test had sodium nitrite added. It’s a preservative and so helps prevent the growth of bacteria; it also gives bacon and ham their characteristic pink colour and flavour.

The Food Standards Code controls the level allowed in products. There are some health concerns about nitrites (“see “Health concerns”, below).

Stabilisers, phosphates, food conditioners, mineral salts and emulsifiers are used to retain the water in bacon and ham. Starches and vegetable gums are thickening agents and also help hold in the water.

Antioxidants help prevent the fat in bacon and ham from going rancid.

Sodium troublespot

Processed meats are the second biggest contributor to our sodium intake. All processed meats are high in sodium but some aren’t as bad as others.

Goulds and Home Brand bacon had the lowest sodium levels in our label survey. Dry-cured varieties (such as Colonial Dry Cure Middle Bacon) are higher in sodium.

There’s less variation in packaged ham.

100% New Zealand

If you look at the fine print on labels, you’ll see some products are “Made in New Zealand from local and imported ingredients”. This means the bacon or ham has been processed here but is likely to contain at least some imported pork.

According to the industry group New Zealand Pork we imported 800,000kg of pork a week in 2007 – much of it went into bacon and ham.

If you want to support Kiwi producers, look for the “100% New Zealand” label or buy products that say they use 100 percent New Zealand pork. These products are guaranteed to be raised on Kiwi farms and produced according to our code of welfare for pigs (see “The welfare of pigs”).

Health concerns

Processed meat and cancer
In 2007 the World Research Cancer Fund published a report concluding we should avoid processed meats (such as ham, bacon, salami and sausages) that have nitrites added.

There’s concern that nitrites may help cause cancer, particularly stomach cancer. The risks are related to the amounts you eat – so aim to cut back your consumption. Eating less of these products also means less saturated fat and sodium in your diet.

Swine flu
There’s no evidence you can catch swine flu by eating pork products (or any animal flu by eating animal products). Swine influenza has never been detected or reported in pigs in New Zealand.