PB (Potassium Bromate) Scares the living --out of me...and only the USA eats it

Dear pergammano Unsure of this being used in India, but I am sure we do have this un-banned and they will never ban it here in India as you know we Indians love the baked stuff - tandoori... anything or even the baked cakes (okay I am not to talk of cakes until September) and we eat loads of them, get ill which does mean a brisk business for all.

That would be one of the reasons that I do a lot of my own baking with simple ingredients. I don't know why the FDA won't ban it but I have a suspicion that it's about money. Potassium Bromate isn't the only thing we have to worry about when it comes to food, though.

I just recently heard of what you are talking about. It's scary that it's so easy to get by with putting in our food.

I don't have the slighest idea what it is, i know DUH!I'm not as smart as u are or not as health conscious as i should be it seems.

Oh pergammano!! I've heard of potassium bromate - in fact I most likely have read it on those ingredient labels as it does sounds very familiar - but in fact, I know nothing about PB - and now feel I MUST look into this!!! YIKES (to say the least). And why didn't I know about this before?????????????? I suppose "they" don't want us to know! In recent times, I've known too many people who've gotten cancer . . . very scary . . . and one has to wonder WHY there is such a rise in numbers for people getting cancer. All kinds of cancer. And could it be that it's from the very stuff we put in our own stomachs every single day?? So why isn't the US doing something about this when the rest of the world has already done so? I don't understand. Should I feel "fortunate" that at least in this state it must be labeled? As they say, WTH? Now I'm going to go through the fridge to read the labels. I am sickened. I am supposed to go buy bread today - so I am going to scrutinize the labels on this errand. Ugh - I'm going to get my own bread machine now! Argh! But then where else is this PB in . . . other baked goods I assume? Argh!!

No actually it does not concern me at all. Life is hazardous to your health and we all have to die sometime. The air we breathe and the water we drink contain substances that are considered carcinogenic, you simply can't escape them. Besides that is just the study of the day that says a certain substance is carcinogenic, tomorrow it will be something else; even standing in the sun can harm you. The thing is, for all this presumed knowledge of what causes cancer, people still have cancer! People who never smoked a day in their lives get lung cancer. Babies are born with medulloblastomas and astrocytomas, and they have not been alive long enough to consume any significant amount of potassium bromide.

Thank you for this information. I did not know about Potassium Bromate. It appears that it may also be used in many other products besides bread (according to this article: http://www.iodine-resource.com/potassium-bromate.html ), including infant cough syrup! It also appears, from that article, that some bakers (but not all) do NOT use it in bread products and that California has ruled that flour with this additive must be labelled when it is used. It is not just a proven carcinogen. It also prevents the body from using iodine (which is a vital component in cell chemistry). I also had to look up WHY we use 'improvers' in bread at all - what is wrong with using just flour, yeast, salt, sugar and water? It appears that breadmaking is a complex chemical process which would normally take up to 24 hours. Using 'improvers', however, speeds up this process by adding some of the enzymes which the yeast would produce ... and some things which have no right to be there in the first place! All done to make the process shorter so that the bakers can make more bread more quickly. I have long known that adding a little Vitamin C powder (ascorbic acid) will produce a better dough and I sometimes use this when I make bread. I also knew that malt contains amylase which converts some of the starch to sugars and helps the yeast to work well and produce more gas. I generally add about a teaspoon of sugar when I make bread for just this reason.

that is very interesting thank you, I am in Canada so I guess I am not at risk, at least for that cancer but we can get cancer from almost anything these days.

Don't even get me started on the "FDA" I learned alot about the corruption and failures of the FDA from natural cures by Kevin Treaudue. Very informative book. I was not aware of this PB though so I will read the information that you provided. thanks for the information. It is very scary what goes on with our food and how corrupt the FDA is.

Wow, it's a good thing I decided to give up wheat! I'm doing pretty good on it although I do have some horrid cravings. So I won't be eating baked goods except those I make myself from rice flour or other non-wheat stuff. Our FDA is a joke and so is our department of health. Recommending we eat 8-12 or whatever servings of "healthy whole grains" is making the nation fat. Especially since the wheat we have now is no longer anything like natural wheat, it's been so genetically changed. And their reluctance to ban PB--could it be they want us to die? Well, I doubt it but it makes a great conspiracy theory. I think they're just disorganized, disengaged and lack any type of common sense. Thanks for bringing this to our attention, you're a good neighbor!

Hello my dear dear friend! I have missed you soooo much! It is a shame the things that our government allows us. The findings that come up are very scary. My recent most taxing concern has been the drinking water. Unfiltered medication, uncontrolled bottling companies...just stressing to say the least. There is noway to get away. I was not aware of this particular situation. I will have to research it for sure. The only way we can avoid these things is to be aware.

The good old FDA hey! They are one of the most corrupt and useless organisations out there! They are not at all interested in the health and well being of the people, only lining the pockets of their own and the companies who they are tied in with. California seem to be on the right track with labelling, but they are still far from perfect when it comes to promoting health. But the rest of the country is worse and could definitely take some advice from the state.

No, I had not heard of this, and it really is terrifying, especially since I highly suspect that I am more prone to cancer than the average person ... I know that I am definitely in a higher risk group and suspect that I probably also carry the "cancer gene", although I will not get tested for it. Now I find out that I am ingesting a known carcinogen, and the US government will not do anything about it - that is just wrong on so many levels!

First of all I would lime to that you for creating this post. I have never before heard of potassium bromate or it's dangers. I'm am outraged to learn that this country would allow such a product to be put food. But at the same time, I am not a bit surprised. I am convinced that Cancer is certainly one of the biggest money-making scams in this country. Of course I can never prove or know this as a fact but I have read many books and articles. I even read that an Italian doctor actually cured some 2000 people in this country with a simple baking soda compound before he was banned from the country.

hi dear pergammano never heard about this gross stuff before........ banning certain ingrediences is a hot topic for sure and its more than appropriate this substance you mention here is banned and should be banned in the US too of course. But even good helpful healthy stuff is banned sometimes. Here in Germany the harmless powder of Stevia, a plant, sweeter than sugar and very suitable for diabetics was banned for decades..... and I never understood why as its a natural and herbal ingredient, but now they have stopped banning it and I could try it out in strawberry jam and in mints and its such a great addition.........

Now that is scary. I wish I knew about this sooner then later but as long as I know. The FDA is a very corrupt place. A lot of people don't know that there is a cure to diabetes. There is a urb that can cure it. Crazy that the FDA can hide it.