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The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday took steps toward banning BHA<\/a>, a food additive used in processed foods such as meats and bread.<\/p>\n BHA, or butylated hydroxyanisole, has been used in the food supply for decades. The FDA first listed it as \u201cgenerally recognized as safe\u201d in 1958 and approved it as a food additive in 1961. It\u2019s used to prevent fats and oils in food from spoiling and can show up in products such as frozen meals, breakfast cereals, cookies, ice cream and some meat products.<\/p>\n The agency said it\u2019s launching a new safety review of the chemical, pointing to long-standing concerns that the food additive might cause cancer in humans.<\/p>\n In the 1990s, the National Toxicology Program \u2014 a federal program that reviews whether certain chemicals may cause harm \u2014 identified BHA as \u201creasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen\u201d based on animal studies. It\u2019s been listed as a known carcinogen<\/a> under California\u2019s Proposition 65.<\/p>\n A handful of studies linking BHA to cancer in animals date back to the 1980s and 1990s, although research in humans is thin. <\/p>\n As a part of its review, the FDA said it is issuing a so-called request for information, asking the public and industry to submit data on how BHA is sued and whether it\u2019s safe. <\/p>\n \u201cThis reassessment marks the end of the \u2018trust us\u2019 era in food safety,\u201d Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a release. <\/p>\n The review aligns with Kennedy\u2019s \u201cMake America Healthy Again\u201d agenda, which has focused heavily on cracking down on chemicals in the food supply. <\/p>\n Last year, Kennedy announced a plan<\/a> to phase out all artificial dyes from the food supply by the end of this year, claiming they are responsible for behavioral problems in children, including hyperactivity \u2014 a link that the FDA has said it\u2019s monitoring but that hasn\u2019t been established<\/a>.<\/p>\n The FDA has since approved \u201cnatural\u201d dyes, including beetroot red, and the expanded use of spirulina extract, an existing color additive derived from a type of algae.<\/p>\n Marion Nestle, professor emerita of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University said she wants to know how the FDA plans to evaluate BHA for safety. <\/p>\n Previous toxicology studies on BHA have relied on lab testing and animal experiments, and it\u2019s not always clear how well those results translate to humans, she said.<\/p>\n Human studies aren\u2019t really possible, she added, noting that they\u2019d take too long, cost too much and raise major ethical concerns.<\/p>\n Still, Nestle applauded the FDA\u2019s move to launch a new safety review of BHA. <\/strong>She said the chemical has been on the Center for Science in the Public Interest’s \u201cavoid\u201d list for ages. The center is a watchdog group for food safety. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s about time the FDA got to it,\u201d Nestle said. \u201dIt will be interesting to see what its reviewers conclude.\u201d<\/p>\n The Consumer Brands Association, an industry trade group, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n