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One congressional staff member said
the Food and Drug Administration
leaves the decision, whether to add a
chemical to the list, to the companies
themselves.
"One thing 1 have trouble under–
standing is the fact that it is referred
to as a líst, and yet it is my understand–
ing that there really is not a list," de·
clared Senator George McGovern.
Actually, FDA officials claim that the
manufacturer is entitled to reach his
own conclusions, based on scientific evi–
dence, whether a substance is "GRAS"
- genernlly recognized as safe.
Obviously, there is very little govcrn–
ment regulation in this area. Many
critics are troubled about this fact. In
the case of drugs, manufacturers are
charged with proving they are safe. Not
so with food additives, however. Rather,
before a substance can be removed from
the GRAS list, the FDA must prove it
is NOT safe!
Many are coming to believe that all
additives on the list, now, should be
tested
to determine their safety, and any
new additives should be carefully tested
bejore
being added to the list.
Other Suspicious Additives
Another food additive under critica!
examination at present, but still on the
GRAS list, is monosodium glutamate. It
has caused more consternation and
agony among officials than cyclamates!
Monosodium glutamate has been indi–
cated in tests as a probable cause of
brain damage in laboratory animals
when massive doses are given. Most of
the concern involves its use in baby
foods.
Because of mounting pressure, three
baby food companies have discont.inued
its use. But it is still ensconced on the
GRAS list - and "generally regarded
as safe."
Another frightening possibility was
stumbled onto by scientists who in–
vestigated an outbreak of Jiver disease
in Norwegian sheep. They found that a
powerful cancer-causing agent can be
created by the combination of two com–
mon compounds found the world over
in foods. The interaction of nitrates,
widely used as food preservatives, and
The
PLAIN TRUTH
amines such as cyclohenylamine, organic
compounds naturally present in certain
foods, induding fish, can produce nitro–
samines. Nitrosamines are capable of
causing cancer in many organs and in
every species of animal upon which they
have been tested ! In very small concen–
trations of only five parts per million
they are capable of producing tumors.
The Norwegian sheep's liver disease
was related to the fish mea! composed
of herring (with its organic amines)
preserved with sodium nitrate and then
fed to sheep.
This small piece of knowledge, added
to the growing accumulation of koowl–
edge about food additives and environ–
mental chemicals which increasingly
surround us, illust.rates the potential
toxic hazards which many seem to be
blithely unaware of !
Dr. Samuel Epstein, whom we have
already quoted, believes a veritable Pan–
dora's box of newly recognized dangers
is opening up! Predicted Dr. Epstein,
within the next few years an explosion
of interest wi ll occur in "harmless"
compounds which become harmful
while being metabolized in the human
body.
Dr. Epstein says there are probably
many food additives, drugs and envi–
ronmental agents which create harmful
by-products during their metabolism in
the human body, although alone they
are "generally regarded as safe."
Threat of Cancer
The biggest worry in the minds of
millions is the threat of cancer. Cancer
kills over
500,000
Americans every year.
lt
is estimated that cancer wiU affiict one
in four persons living today!
What causes cancer?
Many contributory causes are known:
Excessive sunlight, chemicals used in fac–
tory and building operations (benzol,
arsenic, and nickel compounds, and tar) ;
certain chemicals used in foods as
"improvers," "rnodifiers," or "additives";
certain pesticides, as DDT, which often
leave residues on food and animal feeds;
and certain drugs and chemicals used in
feeding livestock for quick growth and
fattening, such as stilbestrol.
Two categories of food additives are
strongly suspected of being carcinogenic
- the polyoxyethylene-fatty acid series
February, 1970
of compounds used in many packaged
foods as emulsifiers, and the food, drug
and cosmetic dyes, notably the food
dyes.
From
500
to
1,000
chemicals are
known to be capable of inducing cancer
in animals. Chemicals cause cancer
indil-ectly
by weakening the cell so that
a virus can invade and take over. The
chemical thus lowers the ability of the
cell to defend itself against an invading
virus. Jt therefore does not cause cancer
dirertly -
only indirectly- particular!y
in individuals who are in poor health
or who repeatedly subject themselves to
the chemical over a •:Jong" period of
time.
Sincc 1945, when the FDA began to
apply modern methods of study and re–
search to certifiable dyes,
15
food dyes
were re-examined for toxic, carcino–
genic
oc
allergenic properties. Only one
of these, Yellow No. 5 (used to color
candies, iciags, and pie-fillings, for ex–
ample) was conclusively shown to be
harmless, as of 1955. But in that year
Orange No. 1, Orange No.
2
and Red
No. 32 were decertified as too toxic for
use in foods.
Writes Herber, "Many carcinogens
have been able to enter man's environ–
ment because of the relative crudeness
of experimental techniques. Even today,
despite advances io testing methods, car–
cinogenic properties are being dis–
covered every few years in establishecl
food additives. At least ten chemicals
listed as recently as 1956 by the Na–
tional Academy of Science in
The Use
of Chemical Additives
in
Food P,.oreu–
ing
are currently suspected of being
cancer-causing agents. These indude a
cheese preservative (8-Hydroxyquini–
lone), a flavoring agent for root beer
(safrole) [removed from the list in 1960
when proved to be toxic and possibly
carcinogeoic], a cheese stabilizer (car–
boxymethyl cellulose), and severa! coal–
tar dyes. Perhaps the worst offenders are
the dyes, notably Yellow AB and OB,
which werc used for decades to color
butter, cheese, cake, candy, cookies,
drugs, and cosmetics" (
011r
S)"llhelic
Environment,
p.
139).
Although legislation prohibits car–
cinogcns as food additives, that law
refers to proveo carcinogens, not "sus–
pect" carcinogens, which are many. And