Think about this: some of the foods we eat in the United States can not be sold in China, Canada, Brazil, or The European Union. But why is this? It is simply because of the food additive Potassium Bromate that has been proven to be cancerous.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/turtlefeed/turtle-bread-ruc

What exactly is this banned ingredient and what does it do? Potassium Bromate is very popular in bread making applications for its powerful oxidation capabilities allowing it to chemically age flower faster than in open air. Historically flower has been aged by leaving it in open air for longer periods of time to allow it to to capture oxygen from the air and ultimately be used to make bread. This must be done because gluten, the main binding agent in bread needs oxygen in order to create molecular bonds. Potassium Bromates oxidation characteristics allows the flour to be aged much quicker. But according to a Buzzfeed Article the affects seen from the use of the additive are not that great and making the switch to stop using the additive is not very difficult for bakers because “the only changes that most bakers find they need to make are slightly longer mixing times” as well as a lower initial water temperature to avoid overheating the dough.
In 1984 researchers in Japan conducted the first tests with Potassium Bromate and found that it caused cancer in the thyroids and kidneys of mice and rats. There have been many subsequent tests involving Potassium Bromate in the years following the original 1984 discovery that have all yielded similar results. These tests led to many countries taking action and banning the additive, but the US Food and Drug Administration still continues to permit the use of the chemical because the amount of Bromate left in the bread after baking is considered a safe amount at less than 20 Parts Per Billion (PPB). It has been classified as a category 2B carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) meaning that it joins a list of 284 other agents that are labelled as possibly carcinogenic to humans. Also, in 1991 it was declared a carcinogen in The State of California meaning products that contain it and are sold in the state now require a cancer warning.

http://www.wisdom-square.com/food-additives.html

Even though it is still permitted for use in the United States many bakeries voluntarily avoid the use of the additive but some, like the popular Philadelphia Bakery Tastykake, still utilize the cancerous chemical. Although some large bakeries still use the additive it is not not difficult to avoid eating it. Now that the bright students of SC 200 have read this post they know that all they have to do to avoid it is simply look at the ingredients and look for and avoid “Brominated Flower” and “Potassium Bromate”.