Put down the rashers and sausages- Fry-ups cause cancer according to new research

It's a report that will cause some grief amongst Irish people as the World Health Organisation's cancer research unit today revealed that eating sausages, bacon and ham could substantially increase the risk of developing colorectal cancer.

That makes having that lovely greasy Sunday morning fry-up leave one feeling all the more guilty afterwards.

“In view of the large number of people who consume processed meat, the global impact on cancer incidence is of public health importance,” IARC official Kurt Straif said in a statement.

"Each 50-gram (1.8-ounce) portion of processed meat eaten daily increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 18 percent."

Straif emphasised that the chances of developing cancer from eating meat remains relatively small but said that the report means that people should seriously consider cutting down on their intake of red meat.