What’s in our bread?: CSE’s new study points to presence of possible cancer-causing chemical in bread
One of urban India’s staple food products – the bread that we buy off the shelves every day – could be laced with toxic chemicals which are serious health hazards, finds a new study done in Delhi by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). The study, conducted by CSE’s Pollution Monitoring Laboratory (PML), says Indian bread manufacturers use potassium bromate and potassium iodate for treating flour while making bread. The use of these chemicals in the bread-making sector has been banned in many countries because they are listed as hazardous for public health: one is a category 2B carcinogen (possibly carcinogenic to humans) and the other could trigger thyroid disorders. India does not ban their use.