Recent research has spotlighted 25 substances associated with cancer that are still sanctioned by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in U.S. food production.

This revelation stems from an investigation conducted by scientists at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), an environmental advocacy nonprofit. The study unveiled that eight of these chemicals are identified as known carcinogens for humans, and the remaining 17 are considered likely human carcinogens.

The EDF has stated that these findings highlight the FDA’s apparent neglect of the Delaney Clause. Instituted in 1958, the Delaney Clause mandates the FDA to prohibit food and color additives proven to cause cancer in humans or animals.

Setting itself apart from most federal health regulations, the Delaney Clause enforces a strict no-tolerance policy: if a substance is determined to be a carcinogen, it cannot be permitted for use in food, regardless of the dosage, exposure levels, or potential advantages.

Despite this, the EDF’s analysis discovered that chemicals such as formaldehyde, asbestos, benzene, methylene chloride, and trichloroethylene continue to be allowed throughout the food supply chain.

The study highlights that while many of these chemicals are not directly added to food, they are approved for use in materials that frequently come into contact with it, including packaging, processing equipment, and industrial aids.

These chemicals are used in adhesives, coatings, paper and paperboard, rubber articles, and plastic and polymer components. 

They are also approved for food-related uses, including coffee decaffeination, spice and hop extracts, food starch modification, flavorings, chewing gum base, and color additives such as paprika, annatto, and turmeric oleoresins, pathways that allow them to enter the food chain through packaging, equipment, and ingredient contamination.

Maria Doa, PhD, Senior Director of Chemicals Policy for EDF, told the Daily Mail that none of the identified chemicals are permitted in the European Union as direct food or color additives. 

New analysis has found that the FDA allows 25 cancer-causing chemicals in America’s food, including formaldehyde, asbestos and benzene

‘Any chemicals not on the EU’s approved list are effectively prohibited, and their presence would be considered contamination rather than authorized use,’ she said.

The classifications cited by EDF are based on assessments from authoritative scientific bodies. 

According to the National Toxicology Program (NTP), a ‘known human carcinogen’ has sufficient evidence linking it to cancer in people, while chemicals ‘reasonably anticipated’ to cause cancer have strong evidence from animal studies or mechanistic data. 

Several of the substances have also been evaluated by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer.

EDF said the science on these chemicals is already settled, noting that many were reviewed decades ago and never reassessed under modern cancer risk standards. Some approvals date back more than 50 years. 

Methylene chloride, which is still used to decaffeinate coffee, has not been reviewed by the FDA since the 1980s.

Because the Delaney Clause bans carcinogenic additives outright, EDF argued the FDA does not need new evidence to act, but simply needs to enforce the existing law and revoke approvals that allow these substances to come into contact with food. 

‘FDA has the authority to remove these carcinogens from the food supply immediately,’ Doa said. 

‘The agency is choosing to keep them approved, allowing ongoing exposure.’

While many are not added directly to food, they are allowed in materials that routinely come into contact with it, such as packaging, processing equipment and industrial aids (stock image)

A spokesperson from the US Department of Health and Human Services told Daily Mail that the FDA is is unable to comment on specific conclusions or questions related to data generated by third parties, where the agency cannot independently validate the underlying values or methodologies.

‘The FDA has launched a strengthened and more systematic post-market review process for food chemicals and additives already on the market, while also advancing proposed rulemaking to reform the Generally Recognized as Safe, or GRAS, framework,’ the spokesperson added.

‘This updated post-market reassessment program uses evidence-based prioritization and rigorous safety review to ensure food additives meet safety standards and to remove or revoke authorizations when appropriate.’

 Among the chemicals classified as known human carcinogens are asbestos, benzene, ethylene oxide, formaldehyde, pentachlorophenol, sodium chromate, trichloroethylene and zinc chromate, which have been linked to cancers including lung cancer, leukemia, liver cancer and mesothelioma. 

Asbestos remains permitted in certain adhesives, rubber articles, and polyester and phenolic resins used in food-related manufacturing. 

Benzene is allowed in modified hop extracts and adhesives, while ethylene oxide is approved for use in paper and paperboard that comes into contact with food. 

Formaldehyde is permitted in defoaming agents, adhesives, animal glues, and paper and paperboard used for both dry and fatty foods.

Other substances classified as reasonably anticipated to be human carcinogens include methylene chloride, 1,4-dioxane, acrylamide, chloroform, chloroprene, epichlorohydrin, dimethyl sulfate, ethylene dichloride, bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), p-dichlorobenzene, styrene, chloral hydrate and 1,2,3-trichloropropane. 

These chemicals are permitted across a wide range of food-contact applications, including plastics, coatings, lubricants, rubber articles and paper and paperboard.

Some are also approved for use in food processing itself. Methylene chloride, for example, remains allowed in decaffeinated coffee, spice oleoresins, and color additive diluents despite evidence linking it to cancer, liver toxicity, neurological harm, and death at high exposures. 

Acrylamide is permitted in modified starches, polymer resins, and paper and paperboard, while 1,4-dioxane and chloroform are allowed in adhesives and plastics used for food packaging.

EDF noted that even when regulations specify limits on ‘residual’ amounts, chemicals left behind after manufacturing, studies have shown that many can migrate into food under real-world conditions, resulting in repeated and unnecessary exposure for consumers and food industry workers.

‘Even if a single chemical is considered ‘low’ potency individually, there may be greater exposure to it than to a more potent carcinogen,’ Doa said. 

She added that the FDA lacks comprehensive data on the magnitude, frequency, and consistency of real-world exposure, making it difficult to accurately estimate cancer risk.

Americans are also not exposed to these substances in isolation, Doa noted. 

‘When chemicals like these are so frequently present in our food and elsewhere in our lived environment, the result is near constant exposure,’ she said. 

‘Over time, these small exposures can add up and slowly affect our health, including increasing cancer risk.’