Bread makers assure not to use harmful potassium bromate, iodate

New Delhi: Leading bread makers on Thursday said that they will give up the use of potassium bromate and potassium iodate in wake of a Centre for Science and Environment study flagging their harmful effects on health, including causing cancer. The CSE welcomed the decision.
The bread makers’ decision not to use these chemical additives came days after Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) banned use of potassium bromate.
Meanwhile in West Bengal, production of bread in over 4,000 bakeries has been hit by about 30 per cent in wake of the study, said industry associations.
Aadil Hassan, managing director of Harvest Gold Industries, who addressed the media, said they had been earlier using the additives as they had been allowed by the government.
Identifying potassium bromate as an oxidizing agent used in the process of making bread and admitting its overuse was harmful, he said that “if used with sophistication, it only adds to the (softness) of the product”.
“Potassium iodate never had any use for us. We were using it since government had mandated its use for breads,” he said, adding that the AIBMA has decided to give up use of both additives because “there is a confusion among the consumers regarding its use.”
The CSE report, released on May 23, said that most of the breads made by the Indian companies are found to contain potassium bromate and potassium iodate – food additives banned in many countries for their adverse effects on human health. (IANS)