An Arkansas lawmaker wants to change chemicals that go into your food.
Senate Bill 9, or the Make Arkansas Healthy Again Act, would prohibit the use of potassium bromate, propylparaben, and erythrosine in foods.
District 45 Representative Aaron Pilkington, one of the sponsors of the bill, said a change in diet for him made him look closer at what’s in our food.
“I was shocked at some of these things that I could barely pronounce, you look them up they’re carcinogenic,” Pilkington said.
Potassium bromate is used to oxidize dough, while propylparaben is used as a preservative in foods and erythrosine.
However, Red Dye No. 3, which is used as a color additive in foods, is most concerning for Dr. Shane Speights with the NYIT College Of Osteopathic Medicine.
“Some of the recent evidence has said there could be some links to cancer but there could also be some links to childhood behavioral issues. So, these are big studies and it’s really hard to peel back all the different layers but there’s decent amount of evidence that says this is something that we should be looking closer at,” Dr. Speights said.
Dr. Speights said the FDA is already looking at these preservatives and some are already banned in states like California.
