Five weeks after the Canadian meat industry suggested the government should withdraw support from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the Health Ministry has its answer: No, thank you. As iPolitics reports: “No adjustments to their support would be necessary at this time,” said a spokesman for Minister Jean Philpott.
The spokesman was referring to the IARC, part of the World Health Organization, and the Codex Alimentarius Commission, a WHO-FAO agency that tries to harmonize food safety and quality standards internationally. The meat industry suggested Codex ought to receive money now going to IARC. “It is important that Canada continues to engage in both organizations as their respective work contributes (to) and aligns with Canada’s health policies and priorities,” said the Health Ministry.
Canadian meat officials raised questions about IARC funding at the same time that some U.S. House Republicans also asked why the agency received U.S. support. The meat industry in both nations has objected to IARC’s classification in October 2015 of processed meat, such as hot dogs and beef jerky, as “carcinogenic to humans” — its strongest rating — and red meat, such as beef, pork or mutton, as “probably carcinogenic to human,” the second-strongest rating.