A new study carried out by Center for Science and Environment has revealed that all is not right with the bread, pizza bases and buns we consume. They say that these breakfast treats may be carrying a known carcinogen that is unsafe for human consumption. The 
has asked for a detailed and complete report on the findings discovered by the Centre for Science and Environment.
To treat flour bread industries often make used of Potassium iodate and Potassium Bromate that had been banned in the European Union and then in Australia, Canada, “New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Nigeria, Peru and Columbia” in 1990’sh. WHO had declared both Potassium Iodate and Potassium Bromate as possible carcinogens .
The Indian food industry continued the use of these two harmful substances besides, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), declaring Potassium Bromate as cancer causing, way back in 1999.
In the recent study where the CSE tests were conducted, famous brands such as Harvest Gold, Britannia and Perfect Bread contained highest levels of the carcinogenic compounds.
Reports showed “The potassium bromate/iodate concentration in Britannia’s white bread measured 17.12 parts per million (PPM), 2.58 ppm in its whole wheat bread, 5.48 ppm in its brown bread, 15.01 ppm in its pav, 16.74 in its fruit bun. The levels in Harvest Gold’s white bread were 17.32 ppm, its brown bread were 5.48 ppm. Perfect Bread’s white bread had 15.01 ppm and its brown bread 8.16 ppm.”
In the list of ingredients only Perfect Bread mentioned that it contained Potassium Bromate. Popular brands such as Britannia denied that its bread was made using the carcinogenic compound.
Britannia gave a statement saying “it does not use Potassium Bromate or Iodate as an ingredient in any of its bread recipes. All Britannia Breads products are in 100 per cent compliance to the existing food safety regulations as stipulated by FSSAI.” It also mentioned “FSSAI stipulates usage of all Food Additives in Food Products within per permissible limits. For potassium Bromate/Iodate FSSAI stipulates the permissible limit as 50 ppm max (On flour mass basis).”
If you notice carefully Britannia in the first statement totally denies the use of the ingredient and then there is mention of the permissible amount it can be utilized in. Based on such ambiguous statements the CSE had requested the FSSAI to prohibit the use of Potassium Bromate and Potassium Iodate totally.
This revealing of the study will definitely affect food joints that have bread as their main serving and these include fast food joints such as McDonald, Subway, Domino, and KFC. KFC has also rendered a statement saying that “we do not use flour treated with Potassium Bromate or Potassium Iodate to manufacture our products”. Besides repeated efforts of DNA to contact FSSAI there has been no interaction via phone calls or emails.
