Attorney General James Uthmeier said Monday his office is starting to investigate the use of potassium bromate in bread.
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The substance is used as an oxidizing agent to strengthen dough, whiten flour, and increase bread volume. Uthmeier said his office is only at the “initial aspect of an investigation.”
“Nobody is getting sued today, yet. We want to learn more information,” Uthmeier said during an event at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine in Orlando. “We will be issuing subpoenas to companies that do buy and sell products with potassium bromate in them. We will be starting with General Mills and their subsidiary Pillsbury. The list will likely go on from there.”
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration already regulates the use of potassium bromate, stipulating that little to no residue remain in the finished baked product. The chemical is a suspected carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and is banned in various parts of the world, including the European Union, the United Kingdom and Canada.
A 2023 law in California banned the use of potassium bromate, prohibiting the manufacture, distribution, and sale of any food or beverages containing the additive starting in 2027.
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