Cakes, chocolate bars, prepared meals… These ultra-processed foods have one thing in common: some of them contain emulsifiers, food additives used to improve their appearance, their taste or even their shelf life, as indicated the National Health Security Agency (ANSES).
In September 2023, a study carried out by researchers from Inserm, Inrae, Sorbonne Paris Nord University and Paris Cité University and Cnam, brought together within the Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (Eren-Cress), had highlighted an association between these food additives and an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases.
This same team of researchers carried out new work using the same cohort, called NutriNet-Santé, but this time was interested in the association between the consumption of these emulsifiers and the risk of cancer. Their results are published in the journal PLoS Medicine.
Emulsifiers and cancer risk: an association observed by researchers
For the purposes of this research, scientists analyzed data from 92,000 French adults. The latter had provided information concerning the food and drinks they had ingested (as well as the brand of these products) over at least three days of food recordings. The presence and quantity of food additives could be identified by the researchers thanks to linking with specific databases and laboratory dosages.
At the same time, study participants reported cases of cancer that appeared during follow-up. Over this period, 2,604 cases were recorded. The researchers took into consideration cancer risk factors, namely weight, smoking, family history and even alcohol consumption.
Result: scientists found that “higher intakes of monoglycerides and diglycerides of fatty acids (E471) were associated with increased risks of cancer overall”, we can read in the press release relaying the results of this study. This increase in risk was 15% among the heaviest consumers of these food additives.
Breast and prostate cancer: consumption of emulsifiers associated with increased risk
Other observations made at the end of this work: a 24% increase in the risk of breast cancer and a 46% increase in prostate cancer in people with a higher consumption of E471.. “Women with higher intakes of carrageenan (E407 and E407a) had a 32% greater risk of developing breast cancer, compared to the group with lower intakes”it is also specified in the press release.
The researchers nevertheless specify that this is an observational study, which therefore does not establish a cause and effect link. They also point out the limitations of their work, such as the high proportion of women or the higher level of education of the participants. However, these observations “bring key new knowledge to the debate on the re-evaluation of regulations relating to the use of additives in the food industry, in order to better protect consumers”note Mathilde Touvier and Bernard Srour, main authors of the study.
Sources:
- Food additive emulsifiers and cancer risk: results from the French prospective NutriNet-Santé cohort, PLoS Medicine, February 13, 2024
- National Health Safety Agency (ANSES) – Update on food additives