A scientific study of genotoxic-carcinogenic impacts of Potassium Bromate as food additive on human health

The research study aims to substantially explain the lethal and negative impacts of Potassium Bromate being widely used as a food additive mostly in the baking food items, thereby deteriorating the human health to a greater extent. ‘It is a probable human carcinogen, though its effects have only been evaluated in lab rats and mice’as stated by The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency(2001) . Potassium bromate also conceives the potential to disrupt the genetic material within human cells. On entering the human body, potassium bromate readily transformed into molecules called oxides and radicals. These highly reactive molecules cause damage to DNA and leads to the development of cancer. Various scientific researches observed severe damage in human liver and intestine cells, where exposure to potassium bromate resulted in breaking of DNA strands and chromosomal damage. Potassium bromate is mostly used as food additive in the formation & baking of bread. It possess a powerful oxidizing chemical property which results into the fermentation of bread flour at a faster rate. Potassium bromate bleaches the dough thereby enhancing its elasticity by strengthening its molecular bridges. This forms tiny thin-walled bubbles in the dough thus making it fluffy, voluminous and unnaturally ivory white in color. As a result of these findings, the use of Potassium bromate as food additive in baking items around the world has been banned. Therefore, the study reveals the fact that Potassium Bromate is an unnecessary and potentially harmful food additive which should be strictly avoided.