Supermarkets and food suppliers, already under fierce pressure over the amount of sugar in the nation’s food, could have done without more revelations about the health consequences of the food we eat.

But after a lengthy investigation by its International Agency for Research on Cancer, the World Health Organisation has concluded that bacon, ham and sausages are carcinogenic.

However, shareholders in major food companies greeted the confirmation of links between cancer and processed meat and the suspicions over red meat with a shrug of the shoulders. Shares in Cranswick, whose entire business revolves around pork, dropped a mere 0.4%, while the processed meat manufacturer Greencore saw a similar fall.

This reaction was not because the credibility of the data is in doubt – although Prof Robert Pickard, a member of the Meat Advisory Panel, said it was ridiculous to compare red meat with smoking. You suspect the food industry would be fighting the wrong battle by taking on the WHO whose words still carry such weight with the general public. And in any case, the WHO specifically said it was not comparing processed and red meat with smoking; they are grouped in the same classification because of the strength of the evidence that they help cause cancer, not the level of danger.

The muted reaction was because food companies have seen this all before. The horsemeat crisis of 2013 hit sales of frozen foods and supermarket own-brands in the short-term, and there is probably more interest in the provenance of our food today than before. However, all the brands involved in that scandal are still around.

In reality, most shoppers are aware they need to eat processed and red meat in moderation – eating food dripping with fat is hardly likely to be good for your health. So while there may be a jolt to sales in the next few days and weeks as some shoppers ponder whether to pick up a packet of salmon rather than smoked bacon, history suggests that eventually households fall back to their own personal preferences.

Nonetheless, expect a similar debate next year when the WHO publishes the findings of a report into coffee.



Careless TalkTalk

One company whose shares have been under pressure is TalkTalk, having revealed last week it was the victim of a major cyber attack.



With shares in the telecoms firm falling another 12%, investors are clearly concerned about the amount of compensation it may have to pay to affected customers, and fear that Dido Harding, the highly regarded chief executive, could be forced to quit.

If there is evidence that incompetence at TalkTalk may have allowed the hackers to breach its cyber walls – and reports about upheaval in the IT department in the last year do not bode well – then Harding should take responsibility.

In her defence, the TalkTalk boss insists the company’s security is “head and shoulders better than some of our competitors”. But the damning truth for British business is we have no way of knowing that. While banks are held to understandably high standards when it comes to managing our money – even higher after the financial crisis – the same cannot be said for those managing our data.

What exactly are the required qualifications to be a chief information officer for a FTSE company? And how well is the management of data regulated?

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is designed to protect financial data, but as the TalkTalk scandal unfortunately shows, cyber criminals may be trying to get their hands on your bank account details through other personal information.

Harding should have known about the threat posed by cyber crime. She is a member of the court of directors at the Bank of England, which has been banging on about cyber security for some time.

Toyota hits VW when its down

Another day, another piece of bad news for Volkswagen. Toyota has reclaimed its position as the world’s biggest carmaker from the German company.

The worst part of this news for VW is that the impact of the diesel emissions scandal has yet to be felt. The scandal only became public in the last two weeks of the nine-month period covered by the industry figures, and sales in September actually rose year on year for VW.



Although car dealers in Britain insist demand for VWs remains robust, it is difficult to believe sales will not be dragged down by the lack of trust in the brand and its diesel cars.

So with General Motors close behind VW, the German brand could even find itself relegated to third place in the global league table by the end of its annus horribilis.