We’ve heard a lot about BHA – a preservative used largely in the processed food sector. (Largely comprised of snacks, cereals, sodas and deli meats.) And it’s officially been found safe. But now, the FDA is now poised to re-assess BHA…
BHA previously earned FDA approval, but has more recently been tagged as cancer-causing.
“The agency first listed BHA as ‘generally recognized as safe’, or GRAS, in 1958, and approved it as a food additive in 1961,” the Associated Press (AP) reports. “Since 1991, however, BHA has been clas-sified as ‘anticipated to be a human carcinogen’ by the National Toxicology Program.”
Critics have their day…
Critics of BHA, who’ve been warning of the substance’s dangers for more than 30 years, will finally have their day.
“Health advocacy groups such as the Center for Science in the Public Interest have long urged con-sumers to avoid products containing BHA because some studies have indicated that the chemical causes cancer,” AP explains. “BHA has been listed as a known carcinogen under California’s Propo-sition 65 since 1990.”
The FDA’s review, “will consider whether BHA is safe under its current conditions of use in food and as a food contact substance,” the agency said, in a statement.
It’s just one small part of a wider effort by the FDA to review chemical additives across the U.S. food supply. Almost a year ago, the agency identified BHA as a top priority.
“We are taking decisive action to ensure that chemicals in our food supply are not causing harm,” FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said, in a statement.
Aimed at kids
BHA is being used less these days than it once was, package labelling surveys have found. But it’s far from gone completely. Even though California and other jurisdictions have banned it.
And that’s a shame. Because the preservative is still widely used in a variety of products including potato chips, cereals, frozen meals and processed meats.
My take
The key wording in the BHA review statement by the FDA is: “…whether BHA is safe under its current conditions of use in food and as a food contact substance.”
‘Current conditions’, of course, include the relatively recent surge in obesity and related diseases, driven in large part by overconsumption of sugar, salt and fat-laden snacks and beverages.
The implication being… If we weren’t eating so much junk, BHA might not be such an urgent issue!
~ Maggie J.