 Does this slice contain potassium bromate? | According to the Daily Beast in a March 2008 post, potassium bromate was one of the top Five Controversial Food Additives. So what is potassium bromate? You might want to know so that you can avoid it because in the post is a quote from the FDA which says "it is reasonable, based on an extensive database, to assume that bromate induces tumors via oxidative damage." It was first found to cause cancer in 1982. So if the FDA knows and believes this, why do they still allow its use? I went to the FDA website and searched for bromate and found that they do indeed allow bromate in specified amounts. This was according to their revised regulation dated April 1, 2011. While it is banned in many countries, it is not banned in the United States, but California has approved a warning label on products containing potassium bromate so this has caused many manufacturers to do away with the additive. |
The FDA has discouraged its use but has not put an end to it because bromate was sanctioned for use before 1958. This is the year that made it possible for food additives to be banned if they caused cancer but since bromate was accepted before 1958 then it will be harder to ban.
Now you may be wondering where bromate shows up in our food supply. Mostly, it is added to flours. Bromate suppose to break down during the baking process but if the product is not baked long enough or hot enough there could still be remaining bromate. Bakers add bromate to the flour to improve dough quality since it strengthens the dough and allows it to stand up to dough hooks and it reduces the mixing time. Your health takes a back seat to time and money.
Bromine is used as an additive in the forms of potassium bromate and brominated vegetable oil. See my post on Brominated Vegetable Oil, or BVO for short, to see if your drink contains this additive.
Now you may be wondering where bromate shows up in our food supply. Mostly, it is added to flours. Bromate suppose to break down during the baking process but if the product is not baked long enough or hot enough there could still be remaining bromate. Bakers add bromate to the flour to improve dough quality since it strengthens the dough and allows it to stand up to dough hooks and it reduces the mixing time. Your health takes a back seat to time and money.
Bromine is used as an additive in the forms of potassium bromate and brominated vegetable oil. See my post on Brominated Vegetable Oil, or BVO for short, to see if your drink contains this additive.
