Green News & Events

.@NRDC & @EWG Sue @US_FDA Over Artificial Flavors

Thank goodness for committed organizations. Despite the fact that the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer found five synthetic flavor additives “possibly carcinogenic to humans,” and another two were determined to be “known carcinogens” by California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, the FDA still refuses to take action on artificial flavors.

So last week, a group of organizations–including the Natural Resources Defense Council, Center for Food Safety, Center for Environmental Health and the Environmental Working Group–jointly filed a petition to ban food companies from using artificial flavors benzophenone, ethyl acrylate, eugenyl methyl ether, myrcene, pulegone, pyridine, styrene and trans,trans-2,4-hexadienal. 

“Consumers are vulnerable, the government isn’t doing its job and the food industry is calling the shots,” said Erik Olson a director at NRDC. “The FDA should be doing much more to ensure our food is safe, and that should start with obeying the law by banning these synthetic flavorings known to cause cancer in animals, rather than just continuing to let the food industry have its way.”

My thoughts, exactly.

One Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *