[Graphic News] Korea defines meat content after cancer concerns

Amid controversy over the danger of processed meat being carcinogenic after the WHO released the statement, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is trying to cool the fuss by clarifying its definition and qualification of processed meat.

There is no worldwide consensus on the definition of processed meat, the ministry said Thursday. Generally speaking, any meat with food preservatives such as salt, nitrate and nitrite is considered meat.

For example, ham is a typical processed meat product that can also be categorized into ham, raw ham, pressed ham and mixed pressed ham.

Ham and raw ham contain more than 90 percent meat and are processed with another chunk of meat or mixed with a small amount of food additives. Pressed ham has more than 75 percent meat and is processed with fish fillets. Mixed pressed ham includes more than 70 percent meat and is processed with ground meat mixed with food additives, then heated.