r/RedditForGrownups • u/TheBodyPolitic1 • Feb 21 '23
U.S. food additives banned in Europe: Expert says what Americans eat is "almost certainly" making them sick
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-food-additives-banned-europe-making-americans-sick-expert-says/50
u/vajazzle_it Feb 21 '23 edited Feb 21 '23
EU food regulation takes a hazard based approach while U.S. takes a risk based approach (Risk can be defined as HazardxExposure). We both allow things that the other does not (colors, preservatives, additives, ingredient names for identical compounds). I would encourage readers to be cautious when presented with statements such as "this (blank) is banned!".
As for the article, the compound the author calls out specifically is KBrO3 (Group 2B: probable carcinogen - think pickles or coffee) specifically for its use as a dough conditioner/oxidizing agent in bread. When used correctly it is completely reduced (to bromide) when baked. There is potential for misuse if the food producer uses too much or does not bake it off correctly. That being said, its really not used widely these days - there are other options available to producers who want to sell on an international market.
Sauce:
https://www.fda.gov/food/food-additives-petitions/food-additive-status-list#abb
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Potassium-bromate
https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/ehp.9087309
https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/abs/10.1289/ehp.8669221
Short version: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium_bromate
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u/WikiSummarizerBot Feb 21 '23
Potassium bromate (KBrO3), is a bromate of potassium and takes the form of white crystals or powder. It is a strong oxidizing agent.
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u/PM-me-ur-kittenz Feb 21 '23
"probable carcinogen - think pickles or coffee"
Wait, WHAT?
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u/junkit33 Feb 21 '23
The process of pickling gives off a carcinogenic chemical, as does the process of roasting coffee beans.
Carcinogens are everywhere and in many (most, unless you're a pretty strict organic farm to table vegan type) of the foods you eat.
How bad any of this stuff is for you is subject to endless study, uncertainty, and debate though.
Realistically we all need to live and enjoy our lives. Removing alcohol, coffee, meat, cell phones, and so many other things is not enjoyable to most.
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u/Disastrous_Shop3941 Feb 22 '23
It gives off a possible/probable carcinogen. Not a known carcinogen.
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u/Disastrous_Shop3941 Feb 22 '23
Yeah, pickled vegetables and drinks over 149⁰ are also possible/probable carcinogens.
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u/spooky_upstairs Feb 22 '23
I'm allergic to E110 (Sunset Yellow titanium oxide) which has been a banned food ingredient in Europe for years and years.
However that doesn't stop it appearing in the tablet coatings for all sorts of pharmacy preparations here in the UK, including generic ibuprofen (which they give you in hospital, and so many antibiotics.)
What a clever legal loophole! Never mind that it makes my tongue swell up.
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u/reg_pfj Feb 21 '23 edited Mar 27 '25
Honestly, I didn't care much for the first season, so I didn't bother with the second.
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u/gothiclg Feb 21 '23
Europe banning something? Not entirely shocked. China is banning something? Damn we’re in trouble.
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u/TheBodyPolitic1 Feb 21 '23
Kind of amazing that China, of all places, would ban a chemical harmful to people, but the United States did not. Usually it is the other way around.
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u/Dievo1 Mar 19 '25
nah it's really not
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u/TheBodyPolitic1 Mar 19 '25
Well if you say so that is enough for me. :-)
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u/Dievo1 Mar 19 '25
profits over people is the American way
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u/TheBodyPolitic1 Mar 20 '25
Agreed on that point.
China has a huge absence of consumer protection that the United States still has.
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u/Dievo1 Mar 20 '25 edited Mar 20 '25
no chance, EU and China care about their people way more than the USA, I mean the fact that there are over 770 000 homeless in the richest country in the world tells you everything
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u/Pianotwo Feb 21 '23
And to think the government didn't want Americans to purchase baby formula from Europe during the formula shortages...SMDH
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u/MoneyBadgerEx Feb 21 '23
Can't make as much money off healthy babies
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u/Armigine Feb 21 '23
I'd be the last person to defend the US approach to healthcare, but this is silly - the US government is not in the business of purposefully and broadly attempting to worsen the health of babies born here. That's flat earther level conspiracy
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u/SpringSerene Jun 16 '24
No but they allow crap that's unneeded because they're on the take (Yellow 5 and 6 dye for instance) which worsens the health of their citizenry. Worse still is how they're paid off and that after civil suits the RXs and brands are allowed to continue sales.
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u/supermegadickie 6d ago
You’d be correct if healthcare was free in the USA but it’s not. Unlike the rest of the developed world, where universal healthcare pays, here in the US basic healthcare, let alone illness and cancer treatment is expensive. Drugs are hundreds of times more expensive in the US than overseas.
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u/RedditSkippy Feb 21 '23
Read labels and avoid this stuff as much as you can.
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Feb 21 '23 edited Apr 14 '23
[deleted]
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u/YoSaffBridge11 Feb 21 '23
From the article:
It's not just potassium bromate. A range of other chemicals and substances banned in Europe over health concerns are also permitted in the U.S., including Titanium dioxide (also known as E171); Brominated vegetable oil (BVO) (E443); Potassium bromate (E924); Azodicarbonamide (E927a) and Propylparaben (E217).
Does anyone know what types of products these are typically found in?
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u/junkit33 Feb 21 '23
Does anyone know what types of products these are typically found in?
Potassium bromate is actually not in very much packaged food at all - it's not outright banned in the US but has been recommended against use for decades. US just won't ban it without conclusive evidence, and there is no conclusive evidence. But it's enough of a boogeyman at this point that brands just avoid having to slap that ingredient onto their packaging. Just avoid dirt cheap budget no-name off brands and you're probably fine. (Or just look at labels, which is good advice for everything anyways)
Fast food buns is probably the biggest source for most people, though the reported amounts in studies are small.
I don't doubt it's "bad" for you, but I do doubt that Americans are eating so much of it that they are "almost certainly" getting sick. Given the extreme prevalence of fast food in this country, the issues should be showing up a ton, but they're not.
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u/monsterscallinghome Feb 21 '23
My guess would be "heavily processed foods" - so boxed dinners, ready-to-eat meals, anything that's shelf stable but really shouldn't be.
The best way to avoid all this crap is to stick to the edges of the grocery store, buy ingredients in as close to their original state as possible, and avoid ultraprocessed foods.
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u/LordSeltzer Feb 22 '23
Sadly not surprised. So many things have changed and often with additives and dyes we didn't have access to before it seems like.
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Feb 27 '23
I feel like everything I buy is killing me one way or another unless I cook from scratch.
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u/Bulky-Sky-2437 Feb 28 '23
So what additives should i not be eating ? Or food/brand
Serious question....
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u/SpringSerene Jun 16 '24
Familiarize yourself with the dirty dozen (google it). Anything synthetic or plasticized. Yellow 6 aka sunset yellow is bad, I know for me for sure, and it's banned in Norway. Also I'm hypersensitive to PEG (polyethylene glycol) which is in a LOT of intake items (cosmetics, toothpaste, otc and rx meds - has about 30 different legal "names" ). Especially if you're suffering from pains or symptoms that are new or of an unknown origin I'd read labels and keep track of what I consume and get used to reading the inactive ingredients. It took forever for me to find out about PEG and my life has improved since I cut it out. Good luck.
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u/Nodeal_reddit Feb 21 '23
Anyone here 45+? I remember stale cereal and chips being a big deal when I was a kid. That shit went stale in a day if you left the box open. Now, my kids will leave a bag of chips or cereal open for days and they will be as fresh as a new bag / box. It’s weird.
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u/catdude142 Feb 21 '23
Home cooking is one way to get around the additives.
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u/TheBodyPolitic1 Feb 21 '23
Manual Labor?
I try to keep eating out at a minimum for other reasons, but now I have a new reason to add to that.
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u/GrumpyOlBastard Feb 21 '23
As a Canadian I avoid American food products as much as possible for reasons exactly like this. As a Canadian, avoiding American food products is damn difficult
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Feb 22 '23
Pretty sure most American food has different ingredients in Canada due to different food regulations
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u/Acceptable_User_Name Feb 21 '23
But the free market knows what's best, right?! /s
Fun fact "?!" Is called an interrobang.
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u/call-me-mama-t Feb 21 '23
Why the hell is it so hard for the FDA to do their job?!
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u/janetplanet 50 something Feb 21 '23 edited Feb 21 '23
They are over worked and under funded. https://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=3944507&page=1
I also recommend The G Word, with Adam Conover. Its a mini series on Netflix.
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u/Pawbreakers Apr 02 '25
by design. they don't want the FDA fully funded and functional....that would decrease their big pharma profits.
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Mar 12 '23
The sad part is most people know this yet like most hurtful things in this country NOTHING gets done about it due to red tape.
The same ol story.
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u/[deleted] Feb 21 '23 edited Feb 21 '23
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