US bread is allowed to contain four carcinogens, and meat contaminated with hormones

Potassium bromate is a relatively common food additive found in American bread, and it's used by the food industry to help strengthen dough according to the New York Post. Unfortunately for Americans, potassium bromate’s use in food production has been banned in Europe and countries like India and China for being a “suspected carcinogen”. 

In October 2023, California became the first state in America to ban four harmful food additives that have been linked to cancer and a wide array of diseases. Bromated vegetable oil, red dye 3, which is derived from petroleum, propylparaben, and a complex additive known as potassium bromate.

This will come into affect starting in 2027.

Japanes study in 1970

The chemicals have been associated with issues from hyperactivity in children to cancer. 

Studies have also indicated that artificial food dyes are associated with behavioral problems in children, including hyperactivity. whilst Potassium bromate, a flour additive that helps bread rise higher, has also been linked to cancer in lab animals. Whereas, Brominated vegetable oil, an emulsifier in citrus drinks, has been tied to behavioral and reproductive issues in lab animals, among other health concerns.

Finally, propylparaben, a preservative in cosmetics and food, is believed to mimic estrogen, potentially acting as an endocrine disruptor.

Many of the four additives have been banned in countries all around the world, but they can be found in everything from candies and cookies to fruit juice and bread in the US. However, the most interesting of the additives banned was potassium bromate, which is found throughout the US food supply

In February 2023, concerns about potassium bromate in the US food supply made the news after Erik Millstone, an expert on food additives at the University of Sussex, sat down with CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell on Evening News to discuss the dangers of the food additive.

In the interview, Millstone told O’Donnell he believed that the potassium bromate added to American bread was “almost certainly” making them sick.

“There is evidence that it may be toxic to human consumers, that it may even either initiate or promote the development of tumors," Millstone told O’Donnell, and he wasn’t wrong about there being evidence that potassium bromate could make people sick. 

The international community has known since at least the early 1990s that potassium bromate could be linked to thyroid and kidney cancer in rats, and some countries have taken action to ban the chemical, while others like the United States, have not.

In 1990, a group of Japanese scientists published an article in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health Perspectives (clickmont he image left), which concluded that potassium bromate should be considered a renal carcinogen based on its effect on the human body. 

The study concluded that flour treated with potassium bromate was carcinogenic in “rats and nephrotoxic in both man and experimental animals when given orally.”  The authors of the study added that potassium bromate induced “renal cell tumors, mesotheliomas of the peritoneum, and follicular cell tumors of the thyroid.”

It was this research that eventually lead the International Agency for Research on Cancer to list potassium bromate as a category 2B carcinogen according to Rick Paulas of KCET, a PBS television affiliate. 

"Because of this, the substance was banned in a number of countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Nigeria, South Korea, Peru, Sri Lanka, China, and the European Union,” Paulas added. 

The Food and Drug Administration banned the use of red dye 3 in cosmetics in 1990 after evidence showed it caused cancer in lab animals. But the government hasn't prohibited its use in food, and it's an ingredient in sweets.

Brominated vegetable oil and potassium bromate have also been associated with harmful effects on the respiratory and nervous systems, while propylparaben may negatively impact reproductive health.

The proposal has been the target of a false claim that California is attempting to ban Skittles. In fact, Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, a Democrat who sponsored the bill, pointed out that Skittles are sold with alternative ingredients in the European Union, where the four additives are already banned.

"It's unacceptable that the U.S. is so far behind the rest of the world when it comes to food safety," Gabriel said in a statement after Newsom signed the law. "This bill will not ban any foods or products — it simply will require food companies to make minor modifications to their recipes and switch to the safer alternative ingredients that they already use in Europe and so many other places around the globe," he added.

In addition to the EU, countries that have banned the four additives in food include the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, China and Japan, Gabriel said. He added that a number of top brands — from Coke and Pepsi to Dunkin' and Panera — have voluntarily pulled the additives from their products.

Go back to 15th July 2015 and it was found that bread being sold in UK supermarkets was being contaminated with a weed killer chemical which could be carcinogenic.

The Soil Association warned bread could contain the chemical because of a farming practice it says should have been banned.
It called for the government, farmers, the milling industry and supermarkets to ensure bread containing glyphosate residue is taken off supermarket shelves.

Current traces of the chemical are well below the European safety threshold - but the level was set before new information about the potentially toxic effects of glyphosate emerged.

In March, a World Health Organisation report published in The Lancet Oncology journal concluded that the chemical "probably" caused cancer in humans, based on a thorough review of scientific evidence.

However the finding is controversial and has been dismissed as invalid by German regulators.

Glyphosate is the chief ingredient in Roundup, the world's most widely used herbicide, made by the agritech company Monsanto.
Soil Association policy director Peter Melchett said: "We cannot ignore the World Health Organisation's findings that glyphosate is a probable cause of cancer - the risks are too great."

"The Soil Association is calling for an immediate stop to glyphosate sprays on wheat destined for use in bread. The glyphosate spraying season starts now, and in the interests of human health and the quality of British bread, the Government needs to call a halt to the spraying before it starts."

Alex Waugh, from the National Association of British and Irish Millers, which represents the flour industry, said: "The UK Government surveys glyphosate residues in bread every year and most of the bread doesn't contain detectable residues. Where they are present, they're well below the regulatory limit.

"I'm not going to say there's no problem with glyphosate, but there probably isn't a problem with glyphosate and bread right now.
"The millers and bakers will continue to talk to their suppliers and ask what can be done to minimise these residues. But if the choice is to have a crop that you can turn into bread and not having one then I'd rather have the crop."

However, The potential for banned chemicals in food, such as potassium bromate, to be imported into the UK from the US under a trade deal has been a point of significant debate. Further, when ASDA was taken over by the US conglomerate, Wallmart, within weeks beef jerky was being sold at Asda’s checkouts.

Beef jerky is not banned in the UK, but imported products must meet strict UK food safety regulations. Hormone-treated beef and certain additives commonly used in the US are prohibited, so not all US-produced jerky can be sold in the UK.

So, whilst this may be the case, we all know that often in the past non-licensed foods can get imported into the UK by stores and US suppliers, and any Trade deal between the US and UK will make this risk even higher.

Here’s an overview of the current situation and concerns:

1. UK Food Standards

• The UK has strict food safety regulations inherited from the EU, which ban substances like potassium bromate in food.
• Any food imported into the UK must currently meet these domestic standards, meaning products containing banned chemicals are not allowed for sale.

2. US Food Standards

• The US allows the use of certain chemicals and additives banned in the UK and EU, including potassium bromate, chlorine-washed chicken, and ractopamine in pork.
• These differing standards have been a contentious issue in trade negotiations.

3. Trade Deals and Regulatory Divergence

• In a UK-US trade deal, there is concern that US producers might lobby to export goods made under US regulations, which could include products containing banned substances.
• If the UK agrees to align with US standards in some areas, it might open the door for these products to enter the UK market.

4. Public and Political Pressure

• Public opinion in the UK strongly favors maintaining high food safety standards. Surveys consistently show resistance to importing food produced under looser regulations, such as hormone-treated beef or bromated bread.
• UK governments have repeatedly pledged not to lower food standards in trade deals.

5. Current Status

• As of now, the UK has not agreed to lower its food standards for any trade agreement, including with the US.
• Any future changes would likely face significant scrutiny from regulators, consumer groups, and environmental organizations.

In conclusion, while banned chemicals like potassium bromate are unlikely to be permitted in the UK under current rules, future trade negotiations could test the UK’s commitment to high food safety standards.

With the UK Government know desperate for Trade Deals across the wolrd, and as the policies  regarding green energy shows, it is likely existing food safety standards may well be allowed to slip in order to ensure a trade deal with the US. Especially now Trump is returning to the White House.

Any deviation from these standards would require changes to existing regulations, which would likely face strong opposition, but that in itself would not be enough to protect UK food standards.

Source: Environmental Health Perspectives / NBC News / The Lancet / Center For Science In The Public Interest / Environmental Working Group / The Guardian