Up to 46% additional risk of developing certain cancers: the study which blames food additives

Les barres chocolatées pointées du doigt. UNSPLASH – DENNY MÜLLER

A French study published in the journal PLoS Medicine, based on health data from 92,000 adults, shows that the consumption of an industrial diet, rich in emulsifiers, very frequently used additives, significantly increases the risk of certain cancers, particularly breast and prostate.

"The consumption of certain emulsifying food additives would be associated with an increased risk of cancer": + 24% for the breast, + 46% for the prostate… this is the conclusion of a study by a French research team in nutritional epidemiology (Inserm, Inrae, Université Sorbonne Paris Nord and Paris Cité, Cnam), based on data provided by a cohort of 92,000 adults, NutriNet Santé. The participants, 45% women, with an average age of 45 years, were questioned about their consumption of industrial products, food and drinks, indicating the brand of the products.

Food additives are very frequently used in the food industry to, recall the researchers, "improve the texture of products while extending their shelf life& quot;. What are we talking about ? Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids, carrageenans, modified starches, lecithins, phosphates, celluloses, gums and pectins. 

They are ingested daily by millions of people, and are present in many products: pastries, cakes and desserts, ice creams, chocolate bars, breads, margarines, prepared meals … "In Europe and North America, 30 to 60% of adults' dietary energy intake comes from ultra-processed foods" , underlines the team.

Epidemiological studies have already made the link between these ultra-processed foods and the risk of obesity, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and cancer. This one goes further.

"New key insights into the debate on regulatory reassessment" 

It is based above all for the first time on an impressive cohort, with thousands of adults, and targets the risk of cancer, on the basis of "recent research" who "suggest that emulsifiers could disrupt the intestinal microbiota and increase the risk of inflammation, potentially promoting the occurrence of certain cancers".

If the raw figure of cancers declared in the cohort is 2604 cases, the analysis of the medical files of the participants, taking into account the general state of health (overweight, diabetes, menopause…) has made it possible to go beyond.

Conclusions ? "After an average follow-up of seven years, the researchers found that higher intakes of monoglycerides and diglycerides of fatty acids, or E471, were associated with increased risks of cancer" of the order of 15% among the strongest consumers. 

For breast cancers, the increased risk is +24%. For prostate cancers: + 46%. For other additives, carrageenans (E407 and E407a), the women who consume the most in the cohort have a 32% increased risk of breast cancer compared to the women who consume the least.' nbsp;

For Mathilde Touvier, research director at Inserm, and Bernard Srour, professor at Inrae, main authors of the study, & quot;these results bring key new knowledge to the debate on the re-evaluation of regulations relating to the use of food additives.

The study is published in the scientific journal PLoS Medicine.