The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday launched a broad review of a long-used synthetic preservative used in packaged foods, as the agency steps up efforts to reassess chemicals long allowed in the U.S. food supply.
The FDA issued a request for information on how manufacturers use Butylated Hydroxyanisole, or BHA, and whether current scientific evidence supports its safety in food and food-contact materials.
BHA is a synthetic antioxidant that prevents fats and oils from spoiling in foods, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and animal feed, extending product shelf life.
The review is part of an FDA program, announced in 2025, to re-evaluate chemicals that have remained in use for decades.
Health advocates have long pushed for tighter scrutiny of BHA, which the FDA flagged for reassessment during its overhaul of its post-market chemical review process.
“This reassessment marks the end of the ‘trust us’ era in food safety,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said in a statement.
BHA has stayed on the market despite the National Toxicology Program listing it as “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen,” based on animal studies, he added.
The health regulator listed BHA as “Generally Recognized as Safe” in 1958 and approved it as a food additive in 1961.
The preservative appears in foods such as cereals, frozen meals, cookies, candy, ice cream and some meat products. Although usage has declined, regulators said it remains common in foods marketed to children.
FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said the agency would undertake similar reviews of other chemicals, including the preservative butylated hydroxytoluene and azodicarbonamide – a chemical used in yoga mats and also as a dough conditioner.
The FDA said it is also working to tighten its GRAS rules to increase transparency and oversight of chemicals added to food without prior FDA approval.
(Reporting by Siddhi Mahatole in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid
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