The NHS been urged to stop serving patients processed meats linked to cancer risks as it is claimed nearly nine out of 10 hospitals still have these items on the menu. Campaigners want the health service to ditch food which has been nitrite-cured to preserve the meat and keep it pink.

A survey of NHS trusts using the Freedom of Information Act found 86% of those who responded were still serving the meats. Professor Chris Elliott, who founded the Institute for Global Food Security at Queen's University, Belfast, and led the independent investigation into the 2013 horse meat scandal, has backed the Coalition Against Nitrites.

He said: "The irony of these findings will not be lost on anyone. The NHS should be at the forefront of delivering safer diets.

"We all realise the immense pressures on the health system but surely our hospitals must be seen to be taking the lead in providing healthy, nourishing food for patients. Sadly, the data show this is far from the case.

"In the UK and across the world, colon cancer rates are rising, especially among young people. Banning nitrites from processed meats would be a very important step in stemming this extremely worrying trend and will set an example for other organisations to follow."