Eating two rashers of bacon or one sausage a day can increase the risk of a deadly form of cancer by almost a fifth, according to a new study.

New research by the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm has found that eating 50g of processed meat a day can increase the risk of pancreatic cancer by 19%.

For people consuming 100g of processed meat, the risk jumps to 38% and to 57% for those eating 150g a day.

But experts cautioned that the overall risk of pancreatic cancer was relatively low. In the UK, it is one in 77 for men and one in 79 for women.

Nevertheless, the disease is a killer and only five percent of sufferers are still alive five years after diagnosis.

The study, published in the British Journal of Cancer, is based on data from 11 studies including 6,643 cases of pancreatic cancer.

It found a 29% increase in the risk of getting pancreatic for men eating 120g of red meat a day - but no greater risk among women.

This may be because men in the study generally ate more red meat than women.

The study concluded: "Findings from this meta-analysis indicate that processed meat consumption is positively associated with pancreatic cancer risk.

"Red meat consumption was associated with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer in men. Further prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings."

It is another blow to the meat industry, which has already had to accept an established link between red meat and bowel cancer.

Pig breeder Mark Hook from Bristol believes moderation and quality meat is the key.

He said: "Eat in moderation but source quality meat. If people buy local they know where it is from, what it has been fed but a knee-jerk reaction to this is simply scaremongering."

While more large studies are needed to confirm the link between meat and pancreatic cancer, the findings are being taken seriously by experts.

Jessica Harris, health information manager at Cancer Research UK, said: "The authors of this study have suggested that one of the reasons could be that some of the chemicals that are used to preserve processed meat are turned in our bodies into some really harmful chemicals which can affect our DNA and increase the chance of cancer."

The World Cancer Research Fund is advising consumers to limit their intake of cooked red meat to 500g a week and to avoid processed meat altogether.