The jury is still out on whether food preservatives harm health. But agencies like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, responsible for overseeing the safety of nations’ food supplies, may still want to consider introducing stricter policies around preservatives, according to an editorial by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Edward Giovannucci and Xinyu Wang.
Giovannucci, professor of nutrition and epidemiology, and Wang, a master of science student in the Department of Epidemiology, wrote the editorial as an accompaniment to a new study from researchers in France that found that six common types of preservatives, when eaten frequently, appear to boost cancer risk. The study and editorial were published Jan. 7 in The BMJ.
Giovannucci and Wang praised the French study’s detailed assessment of preservative intake, but noted that the study cannot prove causality and that further research on the link between preservatives and cancer is needed. Even so, they said, regulatory action may be called for. The co-authors acknowledged that preservatives do help extend products’ shelf life and lower food costs—a particularly important benefit for low-income populations. But since the use of preservatives is widespread and often insufficiently monitored—and since their long-term health effects are still uncertain—regulatory agencies could consider policy changes “such as setting stricter limits on use, requiring clearer labeling, and mandating disclosure of additive contents.”
