A dangerous meal: Does this popular sauce really increase the risk of cancer?

Does spicy barbecue sauce really increase the risk of developing cancer? Recent widely circulated publications on the subject have caused public concern, but in an interview with "HaOlam HaBoker" ("The World This Morning"), Prof. Eitan Friedman, director of the Institute for Early Genetic Detection at Assuta Ramat HaHayal, is working to calm the spirits.

"People are warned against it unjustly. This is not a scientific publication. There is no study that took spicy sauce and proved that it actually increases the risk of developing cancer by 30 to 40 percent. This thing does not exist and it is not true."

However, Prof. Friedman clarifies that this does not mean the sauce is free of health issues. According to him, the real risk does not lie in a direct link to cancer, but in other components: spicy barbecue sauce contains a high amount of sugar and is considered an ultra-processed food. These two factors, he explains, are a legitimate nutritional concern, unlike the baseless rumors about cancer.

Furthermore, he emphasized that the risk percentages incorrectly attributed to the sauce actually belong to much more significant factors:

"All the risk factors we have, such as smoking, lack of physical activity, high body weight - these in total increase the risk of developing cancer by 30 to 40 percent, not the spicy barbecue sauce."

Prof. Friedman concludes the discussion with a call for media responsibility and criticism of publications that cause panic without a factual basis. He emphasizes the damage caused by spreading information that is not scientifically backed, which leads to unnecessary anxiety among the public. "To write in a newspaper without any scientific basis, to throw away these bottles, it is really not right," he protests against the tendency to turn a food product into a public enemy based on empty headlines.