Contact: Erika Wilhelm, erika@bcpp.org
(Washington, D.C. – Month Day, 202X) Today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced its decision on a food additive petition and a color additive petition seeking to rescind approvals for four carcinogenic chemicals in food. The agency granted the petitions in part, revoking the approvals for benzene, trichloroethylene (TCE) and ethylene chloride, a decision that raises significant public health concerns given the government mandate that no carcinogens should be in our food supply.
This decision comes after food and color additive petitions were filed in 2024 by Environmental Defense Fund, Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, Center of Environmental health, Environmental Working Group and independent environmental health consultant Lisa Lefferts.
For more than 60 years, the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act has prohibited the use of food and color additives that show carcinogenic effects in humans or animals. Yet, prior to today’s decision, the FDA maintained approvals for four solvents long known to cause cancer based on studies from the National Cancer Institute and the National Toxicology Program. In its partial grant, the agency acknowledged the carcinogenicity of three of those chemicals but declined to take the same action on methylene chloride.
The agency’s decision failed to limit methylene chloride, a notorious carcinogen with additional neurological and liver toxicity, commonly used for decaffeinating coffee. Independent product testing has detected methylene chloride in several widely sold decaffeinated coffee products, raising particular concern for exposure among pregnant individuals and other vulnerable populations. Methylene chloride’s continued approval is inconsistent with both science and the law — another example of the FDA putting corporate interests ahead of people’s health.
Before today’s ruling, these chemicals were still allowed for certain food-related uses:
- Benzene, allowed in hops extracts (used in beer production and supplements).
- Trichloroethylene (TCE), allowed in decaffeinated coffee, certain extracts of spices used for taste and coloring, and hops extracts.
- Ethylene dichloride, allowed in certain extracts of spices used for taste and coloring, hops extracts, in water used to wash sugar beets, and to dilute pesticides.
Today’s partial action, while a substantial step forward, leaves unaddressed at least 25 other cancer-linked chemicals still allowed by the FDA for use in the U.S. food supply. Recent EDF analysis shows that the FDA continues to allow at least 25 additional cancer-linked chemicals for use in the U.S. food supply, including known and probable human carcinogens identified by the National Toxicology Program and the World Health Organization. These include formaldehyde, asbestos and BHA, underscoring the urgent need for comprehensive reform.
These include widely known carcinogens such as formaldehyde, asbestos and acrylamide, underscoring the urgent need for comprehensive reform.
[Quotes]
The law is clear: carcinogens have no place in food, regardless of concentration or source. While today’s decision to revoke three approvals is significant, the FDA must put the health of the consumer ahead of the industry’s profits and take this opportunity to apply the law consistently and proactively, including by rescinding the remaining authorization for methylene chloride and addressing the broader set of carcinogens still permitted in U.S. food.
– Maria Doa, PhD., Senior Director, Chemicals Policy, Environmental Defense Fund
Revoking approvals for three carcinogens is meaningful progress, but the agency’s refusal to remove methylene chloride from our food supply is deeply disappointing and difficult to reconcile with the law. The FDA has recognized that this chemical poses cancer risks and is found in products like decaffeinated coffee that are consumed daily, yet it has chosen to leave people exposed. Consumers shouldn’t have to gamble with cancer-causing chemicals when they buy groceries. We urge the FDA to correct this mistake quickly and to continue removing carcinogens from our food system.
– Melanie Benash, Vice President, Government Affairs, Environmental Working Group
“Breast cancer doesn’t negotiate — and neither should the FDA. Banning three cancer-causing chemicals from our food is a meaningful step forward and proof of what the agency can do when it follows the law and acts with courage. But leaving methylene chloride in food is an unacceptable contradiction. The FDA knows this chemical causes cancer and that people are exposed to it every day. There is no scientific, legal, or moral justification for continuing that risk. We urge the FDA to finish the job and ban methylene chloride.”
