New York Lawmakers Pass Potassium Bromate Ban, Threatening 80% of Pizza and Bagel Shops
Updated
Updated · NBC News · May 22
New York Lawmakers Pass Potassium Bromate Ban, Threatening 80% of Pizza and Bagel Shops
13 articles · Updated · NBC News · May 22
New York lawmakers approved a bill banning potassium bromate, sending it to Gov. Kathy Hochul and giving bakeries a 1-year grace period plus time to use unexpired bags.
Around 80% of the city's pizza and bagel shops use bromated flour, which speeds dough production and helps create the chewy texture tied to classic New York slices and bagels.
Shop owners are already reworking recipes with different flour, yeast and rise times, warning the switch could raise costs and alter long-established products.
Health advocates say the additive is a suspected carcinogen linked to cancer in animal studies and note it is already banned in the EU, China, India, Canada and soon California.
General Mills sells an unbromated alternative at roughly the same price, and some pizza experts say the shift could ultimately improve fermentation and slice quality.
New York is banning a key ingredient. Can its iconic pizzas and bagels truly survive the change?
Banned globally for decades, why is this flour additive just now facing its reckoning in America?
As states increasingly ban food additives, is the national FDA safety system becoming obsolete?