A recently proposed ban on the food ingredient potassium bromate has sparked a surprising amount of controversy. New York Senate lawmakers recently voted to ban the popular food additive alongside others like red dye No. 3 and propylparaben in March.
Potassium bromate to those within the bagel and pizza industry is considered a flour “improver” or dough conditioner. It’s an additive that is mainly used in baking to strengthen dough, increase volume, speed up mixing and baking times, and better pizza crusts.
Unfortunately, the ingredient is linked to cancer and nephrotoxicity, which led to its ban in Canada, China, the European Union, and other regions. While some businesses are wary of how this ban could affect the quality of their food, other businesses have already started the process of switching to flour that is unbleached.
The ban will begin after Governor Hochul signs the legislation, in which food distributors will have one year to transition their four stock permanently to unbleached or unbromated flour for their New York clients. For restaurants, they will have until their flour’s expiration dates until they will be permanently restricted to unbleached or unbromated flour.
While the ban has yet to be finalized, the discussion amongst business owners continues. The ban will likely lead to more time and energy to retrofit recipes to fit with the new guidelines. That said, many businesses will have to consider if upholding the possibility of easier profits is worth it as opposed to protecting its consumerbase.
