regulation
FDA will reassess the safety of BHA
Photo illustration: Christine Kao/STAT; Photo: Adobe
The FDA is planning to reassess the safety of a chemical preservative called butylated hydroxyanisole. Called BHA, it's used in foods like potato chips, cereal, bread, frozen food, and meat products like my beloved salami. The agency issued a new request for information regarding the preservative, and plans to consider if it is safe as it's currently used in food. The AP has more details.
The move is part of a major MAHA agenda item to increase oversight of chemicals in the U.S. food supply. Last year, STAT's Sarah Todd and Lizzy Lawrence wrote about the particular challenges ahead in trying to close the "generally recognized as safe" loophole for food additives.
one big number
71%
That's the percentage of baby food products that can be classified as ultra-processed foods, according to a study published today in Nutrients. And it's not just that they're ultra-processed, which STAT's Sarah Todd and I agreed was not necessarily surprising. It's that these ultra-processed products contained twice as much sugar as their counterparts, which also didn't contain any added sugars. The ultra-processed baby foods were also consistently higher in sodium and generally more calorie dense.
The study looked particularly at "complementary foods," meaning those fed to a baby who is still drinking breast milk or formula. Researchers analyzed 651 baby food products available in the spring of 2023 at grocery chains (think Walmart, Kroger, Publix, etc.) in Raleigh, N.C. A product was ultra-processed if it included at least one ingredient from a list of more than two dozen that range from fruit juice concentrates and gluten to foaming, gelling, and glazing agents.
It's possible, the authors suggest, that eating ultra-processed foods during this period doesn't just have a direct nutritional impact, but could shape a person's taste preferences and dietary patterns. For more on how ultra-processed foods captured the baby and toddler market, re-visit another great Sarah story from last year.
first opinion
Why clinical trials exclude patients with rare diseases
Theron Odlaug worked in health care leadership for more than 40 years before becoming an advocate for rare disease access. His granddaughter Anna has Dravet syndrome, an epilepsy condition. "For families like ours, hope often comes not as a cure, but as a clinical trial," he writes in a new First Opinion essay. Meaning: "carefully designed but inevitably exclusive."
The stars already have to align so much for a promising therapy to exist, and then for the FDA to authorize expanded access. And still, patients like Anna often don't fit the protocol, leaving families without a path forward. Read more from Odlaug on the real concerns that lead companies to make these decisions, and what sort of incentives he believes could change things.
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