Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – For people who avoid caffeine, decaf or decaffeinated coffee is an option. But some health groups think otherwise. They even petitioned the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ban the main chemical involved in the decaffeination process because it could trigger cancer.
The chemical is methylene chloride, a colorless liquid used in certain industrial processes, including paint stripping, pharmaceutical production, paint remover production, and metal cleaning and degreasing.
Methylene chloride is a known carcinogen designated by the National Toxicology Program of the National Institutes of Health, the Environmental Protection Agency and the World Health Organization. This was conveyed by Dr. Maria Doa, senior director of chemical policy for the Environmental Defense Fund, is one of five groups and individuals behind two food additive and dye petitions sent to the FDA last November.
FDA submitted the petition to its docket for consideration on December 21 and is accepting public comments on the filing notice until March 11, 2024.
“In addition to being carcinogenic, methylene chloride can cause other health hazards, such as liver toxicity and higher exposure to neurological effects, and in some cases death,” Doa said as quoted by CNN, Thursday (11/4/2024).
“These risks occur in the context of acute external exposure to high levels of chemicals, or ingestion of the chemicals themselves.
The chemical's toxicity led the EPA to ban its sale as a paint stripper in 2019, in 2023 the agency proposed a ban on its sale for other consumer uses and many industrial and commercial uses.
However, food uses regulated by the FDA under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act remain.
The Environmental Defense Fund and the petitioners argue that by allowing methylene chloride in food, the FDA has ignored a 66-year-old addition to federal law called the Delaney Clause, which requires the FDA to ban food additives proven to cause or induce cancer when ingested by humans or animals.
“Therefore, these chemicals cannot and should not be considered safe,” Doa said.
An FDA spokesperson said it was reviewing the petition but had no comment while it was under review.
[Gambas:Video CNBC]
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