Potassium bromate
Do your family a favor and look it up before you bake something with it. Potassium bromate is one of the three ingredients in ‘bread flour’.
This is some of the frightening things I found when I did a search for it online…
Potassium bromate is a carcinogen. (carcinogens are hundreds of chemicals are capable of inducing cancer in humans or animals after prolonged or excessive exposure. )
chemical scorecard…
http://www.scorecard.org/chemical-profiles/summary.tcl?edf_substance_id=7758-01-2
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DANGER! STRONG OXIDIZER. CONTACT WITH OTHER MATERIAL MAY CAUSE FIRE OR FORM SHOCK SENSITIVE MATERIALS. MAY BE FATAL IF SWALLOWED. HARMFUL IF INHALED OR ABSORBED THROUGH SKIN. CAUSES IRRITATION TO SKIN, EYES AND RESPIRATORY TRACT. MAY CAUSE KIDNEY DAMAGE.
Lab Protective Equip: GOGGLES & SHIELD; LAB COAT & APRON; VENT HOOD; PROPER GLOVES
Ingestion:
Causes irritation to the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms may include nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. May cause abdominal pain, reduced urinary output, low blood pressure, methemoglobinemia, convulsions, liver and kidney damage, and coma. Cyanosis may occur as a later symptom. Death may occur from renal failure, within 1 to 2 weeks. Estimated lethal dose is 4 grams.
http://www.jtbaker.com/msds/englishhtml/p5576.htm
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Many bakers, including Best Foods, Inc. (maker of Arnold, Entenmann’s, and Orowheat brand breads and rolls), Pepperidge Farm, and Pillsbury, have switched to bromate-free processes. Also, some supermarket chains, including Giant, Jewel, Ralph’s, and Von’s, do not use bromate.
In contrast, Interstate Brands Corp. (Wonder, Home Pride), Schmidt Baking Co. (Schmidt, Sunbeam), Tasty Baking Co. (TastyKake), and Martin’s still use potassium bromate in some of their products. Among fast-food chains, Burger King, Arby’s, and Wendy’s use bromate in buns, and Boston Market uses it in its french sandwich bread.
CSPI advises consumers to avoid bread, rolls, doughnuts, and cakes that list “potassium bromate” or “bromated flour” among their ingredients. FDA’s limited surveys found that rolls and buns are especially likely to contain high levels of bromate.
http://www.cspinet.org/new/bromate.html
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When I googled potassium bromade I got more than 90,000 pages to look at. The sampling above is just that. Take it for what it is worth, but my family will no longer be eating this stuff. Which means no more Burger Kind, no more Wendy’s and no more *snifle* Arby’s. I will be checking with Arby’s to see about this, because on the occasion I have to eat fast food, I love to eat there.
Things like this concern me deeply because of my affliction with MCS. Chemicals mess with me and it scares me that things like this can trigger issues and the public is not notified about all of this nasty stuff that ‘our’ government allows in our food.
Have a Blessed Day!
Mama
