Watchdog warns of 3 food additives linked to cancer after red ban

The FDA issued an order Wednesday banning the use of Red No.

This particular dye has been banned in cosmetics and topical medicines since 1990, but despite the FDA announcing an intention to further ban it in food in 1992, it took until this week to take action.

The move came after a petition by the Center for Science in the Public Interest and 23 other organizations, which included data showing that male lab rats exposed to high levels of red no. 3 got cancer.

But CSPI’s Chief Scientist for Food Additives and Supplements, Thomas Galligan, says Red No. 3 is not the only food additive that has been linked to harmful side effects, including cancer. Speaking to The Post, he shared three other additives his organization would like to see banned next.

Aspartame

Aspartame is a zero-calorie artificial sweetener that can be found in many diet and sugar-free foods, including soda, gum, gelatin, ice cream, breakfast cereal, and yogurt. It is also sold under brand names such as Nutrasweet, Equal and Sugar Twin.

Galligan said it’s the “most common” additive they worry about causing cancer.

In 2023, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified aspartame as carcinogenic or carcinogenic to humans – which Galligan points out was “based almost entirely on human evidence”.

“Unfortunately, the FDA has really dug into this and actually tried to stop the IARC from doing its assessment,” he said. “The FDA really believes that aspartame is safe and doesn’t want to hear otherwise, basically, and so it really falls on consumers to try to avoid it for themselves.”

The FDA, for its part, said it “disagrees with the IARC’s conclusion” and that its scientists have no safety concerns about its use.

“[They] had no interest in what IARC had to say, which is really unfortunate because IARC is the international authority on cancer. And for the FDA to essentially just preemptively say, ‘We disagree with you,’ is deeply troubling,” Galligan added.

The American Cancer Society has not made a determination as to whether it believes aspartame can cause cancer, but many health organizations are urging caution.

Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA)

Countless doctors and nutritionists have spoken out against BHA, an antioxidant preservative that’s all too common in the US food supply — despite being banned in many other countries.

“These types of preservatives are banned in the European Union and mainly because of the risk of cancer,” previously told The Post Dr. Neha Pathak, MD, who serves on the WebMD Medical Team. “The risk of cancer is something of concern and certainly reasonably predictable based on the studies we have.

“There are many animal studies showing that high doses can cause tumor development in rats and rodents. It is classified as a reasonably anticipated human carcinogen.”

Although the evidence is from animal studies, Galligan says that’s reason enough to move forward with a ban.

“Like Red No. 3, we would argue that the animal evidence is quite clear in this case, and because of the Delaney clause, the FDA should have banned BHA long ago.”

The Delaney Clause of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which was passed in 1960, prohibits the FDA from authorizing any food additive or color that has been found to cause cancer.

Potassium bromate and azodicarbonamide

These two additives are used in flour and found in bread. Potassium bromate increases the volume of bread and can give it a “fine crumb” texture, while azodicarbonamide strengthens the dough and acts as a bleaching agent.

Neither is widely used anymore – but they are still allowed in the US despite being banned elsewhere.

“[Potassium bromate] it was banned by the World Health Organization many years ago because it was found to cause cancer,” Galligan said.

CSPI has asked the FDA to ban it here as well, but the FDA maintains that it can be “safely used in malting barley” under certain conditions.

However, it was banned in California in 2023, and Galligan says it “probably prompted American food manufacturers to stop using it because … it’s easier for them to have the same formula across the board.

Azodicarbonamide, meanwhile, breaks down into two chemicals—semicarbazide and urethane—that are linked to cancer.

What will the FDA do?

Galligan thinks it’s too early to tell if a change in administration could mean banning these foods, but he’s not hopeful.

“I don’t expect this to happen of its own accord. I think that if something happens, it will be through instigation by us, by other groups,” he said. “If the FDA were to take a second look, it would probably be because we asked them to.”

CSPI’s ultimate desire is also not for the government to ban each of these individual ingredients, but to restructure its approval process.

“Red no. 3, and how the FDA has handled the red number.

“It is indicative of a broken federal system that allows unsafe chemicals to remain in our food supply long after we know they are harmful. And so what I would like to see, which CSPI is working on, is full-scale reform to fix that broken system.

“Because we are not only concerned about the number 3 Red. There are other chemicals, and chemical by chemical transition—we’re talking about 10,000 chemicals that are currently allowed to be used in food or food contact materials in the U.S., at least, according to current estimates.

“So it’s a ton of chemicals that we’re concerned about, and going one at a time is a pretty inefficient way to do it. And so fixing the whole system is what we’re hoping for.”

The FDA has not yet responded to a request for comment.