FDA Launches Safety Review of Food Preservative BHA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced on Tuesday that it is launching a formal assessment of butylated hydroxyanisole, a preservative known as BHA commonly used in packaged foods to prevent the spoilage of fats and oils. The review, which focuses on BHA's safety in food products and as a food contact material, comes amid long-standing concerns about its potential health risks.

BHA appears in a range of items, including potato chips, breakfast cereals, frozen meals, cookies, candy, ice cream, and meat products. The FDA first classified BHA as generally recognized as safe in 1958 and approved it as a food additive in 1961. However, its status has faced scrutiny for decades. Since 1991, the National Toxicology Program has listed BHA as reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen based on animal studies showing links to tumors in the forestomach and liver of rats, mice, and hamsters. California has classified it as a known carcinogen under Proposition 65 since 1990. While package labeling data show a decline in BHA use in recent years, it remains present in many foods, particularly those marketed to children.

The assessment is part of a broader FDA initiative launched...