From the BBC:
Cancer concerns over smoked food*
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) says one of the flavourings used to smoke meat, cheese or fish, may be toxic to humans. The authority looked at 11 smoke flavourings commonly used in the European Union. It says several of the flavourings are dangerously close to levels which may cause harm to humans.
The European Commission will now establish a list of smoke flavouring products that are safe for use in food. The smoke flavourings are products which can be added to foods to give them a 'smoked' flavour, as an alternative to traditional smoking.
Klaus-Dieter Jany, the chair of EFSA's expert panel on flavourings (CEF Panel) said: "The Panel based its conclusions on the limited data which are currently available as well as conservative - or cautious - intake estimates. The Panel expressed safety concerns for several smoke flavourings where intake levels could be relatively close to the levels which may cause negative health effects. However, this does not necessarily mean that people consuming these products will be at risk as, in order to be on the safe side, the consumption estimates deliberately over-estimate intake levels."
* Wholly misleading headline. The article does not specifically mention cancer, and it appears to be about "smoked flavouring products" rather than food that's actually been smoked, but hey.
UPDATE: Adam Collyer did a bit more digging and left this comment:
"Take a look at the EFSA's own site.
It notes: "In several cases, no adverse effects were reported in animals at the highest levels tested. The margins of safety were calculated using these levels as no data were available on possible effects at higher levels." For example, for TRADISMOKE A MAX the reported effects were "None at the highest level tested
in rats" and the conclusion was "Safety concern for proposed uses and use levels". The same applies to two others of the 11 substances tested.
Unbelievable."
So Open, Their Brains Have Fallen Out...
5 hours ago
7 comments:
When will it ever end? The EU wouldn't date undertake an exercise to ban smoked foods, far too many countries eat smoked foods as their staple diet.
Of course if it was introduced, the UK would be the only country to implement it.
They must be running out of ideas to justify their existences!
A standard tactic by the Beeb. Any chance to gemmy the word 'cancer' into a headline is willingly snapped up, whether true or not.
Take a look at the EFSA's own site.
It notes: "In several cases, no adverse effects were reported in animals at the highest levels tested. The margins of safety were calculated using these levels as no data were available on possible effects at higher levels."
For example, for TRADISMOKE A MAX the reported effects were "None at the highest level tested
in rats" and the conclusion was "Safety concern for proposed
uses and use levels". The same applies to two others of the 11 substances tested. Unbelievable.
subrosa,
as mark has said its about "smoked flavouring products" whatever they are. sounds vile anyway
Sub, it will never end. They're only just warming up.
Sue, there is so much to ban, so little time...
DP, good article.
AC, excellent work, I have updated the post.
R, they do sound vile, and probably taste vile. But you can't go round banning stuff on those grounds alone.
The EU favours doing risk assessments based on "hazard" (whether something might be dangerous at some dose) rather than risk. Risk is scientific and takes likely exposure into account whereas hazard does not. This is how greens in the EU recently managed to ban many of the pesticides we rely upon to produce our food. I suspect they like using hazard because it allows almost anything to be banned.
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