2024-02-13 19:05:02
February 13, 2024
Pastries, cakes, desserts, ice creams, chocolate bars, breads, margarines or prepared meals… emulsifiers are among the most used additives in ultra-processed products. For the first time, French researchers associate their consumption with an increased risk of certain cancers.
Emulsifiers, widely used in the food industry, are additives used to stabilize a mixture of substances that normally separate (such as water and oil). If certain additives are accused of being endocrine disruptors or carcinogens, what regarding emulsifiers in particular? The answer is not so simple. Because, as Inserm specifies, “ their safety has been previously assessed based on the scientific evidence available at the time ».
For the first time, a team of French researchers was interested in the relationships between dietary intake of emulsifiers and the risk of cancer. Their work was based on French data from 92,000 adults who participated in the NutriNet-Santé cohort study between 2009 and 2021.
Breast and prostate cancers…
The scientists then observed that “ Higher intakes of monoglycerides and diglycerides of fatty acids (E471) were associated with increased risks of overall cancers, breast cancers (+24% risk), and prostate cancers (+46%). On the other hand, women with higher intakes of carrageenans (E407 and E407a) had a 32% greater risk of developing breast cancer, compared to the group with lower intakes. »
E471 is used in many categories of food (including infant food), in particular bread, bakery products, jams, alcoholic beverages, processed cereals, oils, etc.
E407 and E407a are texturing agents found in dairy products such as flavored milk, fruit yogurts, dessert creams, vegetable milks or yogurts, sweet products such as ice creams, cakes or industrial biscuits or even in many prepared dishes.
Review the regulations…
For Mathilde Touvier, research director at Inserm, and Bernard Srour, junior professor at Inrae, main authors of the study, “ If our results are to be reproduced in other studies around the world, they bring key new knowledge to the debate on the reassessment of regulations relating to the use of additives in the food industry, in order to better protect consumers ».
Indeed, regarding E471, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) wrote in 2017 that no “ evidence of adverse effects had been reported”, and that it was “not necessary to define an acceptable daily dose. »
To note : Inserm reports that in Europe and North America, 30 to 60% of adults’ food intake comes from ultra-processed products.
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