Potassium iodate is a food ingredient that oxidizes and strengthens gluten protein bonds in bread dough almost immediately after mixing. It accelerates the reactions which allow the bread to rise during baking.
Potassium iodate (KIO3) is a chemical which contributes to thyroid-related diseases.
It is not approved to use as food additive (E917) in EU.
Potassium bromate, a potent oxidizer that helps bread rise, has been linked to kidney and thyroid cancers in rodents.
Azodicarbonamide (ACA), a chemical that forms bubbles in foams and plastics like vinyl, is used to bleach and leaven dough – but when baked, it, too, has been linked to cancer in lab animals.
Other countries, including China, Brazil and members of the European Union, have weighed the potential risks and decided to outlaw potassium bromate in food. India banned it in 2016, and the UK has forbidden it since 1990.
Azodicarbonamide has been banned for consumption by the European Union for over a decade.
But despite petitions from several advocacy groups – some dating back decades – the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) still considers these to be Gras or “generally recognized as safe” to eat, though plenty of experts disagree.
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