The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued draft guidance proposing an action level of 100 µg/kg for inorganic arsenic in rice cereals for infants. The agency has also released supporting documentation for its proposal as well as a risk assessment that includes (i) “a quantitative estimate of lung and bladder cancer risk from long-term exposure to these products and the predicted impact of various scenarios to reduce the risk,” and (ii) “a qualitative assessment of certain potential non-cancer risks, in certain susceptible life stages.” “We conclude that the 100 µg/kg action level will help protect the public health and is achievable with the use of current good manufacturing practice, but we especially welcome comments and information bearing on the achievability and public health benefits and risks of 100 µg/kg, as compared with other potential action levels (including no action level),” states FDA, which will consider comments submitted by…
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The California Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has proposed an emergency action to temporarily allow the use of standard point-ofsale warning messages for bisphenol A (BPA) exposures from canned and bottled foods and beverages. Under Proposition 65 (Prop. 65) regulations, consumer products that contain any chemical known to the state to cause reproductive toxicity or cancer must display a “clear and reasonable” warning on “labeling, shelf tags, shelf signs, menus or any combination thereof as long as the warning is prominent and conspicuous.” Starting May 11, 2016, all foods and beverages that result in BPA exposure must display a similar warning “unless the person causing the exposure can show that the exposure is 1,000 times below the no observed effect level for the chemical.” To avoid consumer confusion and give manufacturers time to transition to BPA-free packaging, OEHHA proposes allowing the temporary use of point-of-sale…
A new study has allegedly linked a high dietary glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load—“markers of carbohydrate intake”—to an increased risk of lung cancer in non-smokers. Stephanie C. Melkonian, et al., “Glycemic Index, Glycemic Load, and Lung Cancer Risk in Non-Hispanic Whites,” Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, March 2016. Comparing data from newly diagnosed lung cancer cases to a group of healthy controls, the study authors reportedly found an increased risk for lung cancer among participants with dietary GI in the highest quintile, compared to those in the lowest quintile. In particular, their stratified analyses purportedly noted “a more profound, independent association between dietary GI and lung cancer risk in individuals without traditional lung cancer risk factors.” “Diets high in GI result in higher levels of blood glucose and insulin, which promote glucose intolerance, insulin resistance, and hyperinsulinemia,” explain the researchers. “This is only the second study to suggest an independent…
The U.K. Chief Medical Officers have advised consumers to drink less than 6 pints of beer per week under new guidelines for alcoholic beverage intake. Revising previous standards that set weekly limits at 21 units of alcohol for men and 14 units for women, the updated recommendations urge all consumers to imbibe fewer than 14 units weekly and warn that drinking even a moderate amount of beer, wine or spirits on a regular basis allegedly raises the risk of developing certain cancers. They also caution individuals to spread consumption over three or more days instead of engaging in “binge” drinking sessions. “Drinking any level of alcohol regularly carries a health risk for anyone, but if men and women limit their intake to no more than 14 units a week it keeps the risk of illness like cancer and liver disease low,” said Chief Medical Officer of England Sally Davies in…
An animal study examining the purported link between high sucrose intake and the development of mammary gland tumors has attributed the effect in part “to increased expression of 12-lipoxygenase (12-LOX) and its arachidonate metabolite 12-hydroxy-5Z,8Z,10E,14Z-eicosatetraenoic acid (12-HETE).” Yan Jiang, et al., “A Sucrose-Enriched Diet Promotes Tumorigenesis in Mammary Gland in Part through the 12-Lipoxygenase Pathway,” Cancer Research, January 2016. University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center researchers used several mouse models--“including a mouse mammary gland tumor model that carries a MMTV/unactivated neu transgene, a human triple-negative breast cancer cell (MDA-MB-231) orthotopic mouse model, and a breast cancer lung metastasis mouse model (injected with 4T1 mouse breast cancer cells)”--to identify a potential mechanism by which a sucrose-enriched diet contributes to tumor genesis and metastasis. The study reports that 50 to 58 percent of mice on a sucrose-enriched diet developed mammary tumors, compared to 30 percent on a starch-control diet. It also…
“Cancer and Diet: The Latest on Processed Meats, Fats and More” is the title of a January 15, 2016, live forum hosted by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Webcast faculty, including Harvard Professors Walter Willett and Frank Hu, will discuss the World Health Organization’s classification of processed meat as a “Group 1” carcinogen and the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, among other topics. Willett and Hu were quoted in a January 8 Time article about the role of food industry influence on the new guidelines. Issue 589
The World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has announced a monograph evaluating the alleged link between red and processed meat consumption and cancer. According to an October 26, 2015, press release, 22 experts from 10 countries reviewed more than 800 epidemiological studies about this association, with the greatest weight given to “prospective cohort studies done in the general population.” Published in The Lancet Oncology with a detailed assessment to follow in volume 114 of the IARC Monographs, the initial summary concludes that red meat—which includes beef, veal, pork, lamb, mutton, horse, and goat—is “probably carcinogenic to humans” “based on limited evidence that the consumption of red meat causes cancer in humans and strong mechanistic evidence supporting a carcinogenic effect.” In addition, the meta-analysis purportedly found that meats “transformed through salting, curing, fermentation, smoking, or other processes” are “carcinogenic to humans” “based on sufficient evidence that the…
The National Toxicology Program’s (NTP’s) Office of the Report on Carcinogens and Office of Health Assessment and Translation (OHAT) are requesting information about six substances, including fluoride (CASRN 7681-49-4), nominated for possible review and inclusion in future editions of the Report on Carcinogens (RoC). More specifically, NTP seeks (i) data about the compound’s current production, use patterns and human exposure; (ii) exposure studies evaluating adverse health outcomes, e.g., cancer, reproductive or immunological disorders; (iii) scientific issues relevant to prioritizing adverse health outcomes; and (iv) names of scientists with proven expertise about the chemical. OHAT is also interested in obtaining material about non-cancer health outcomes related to fluoride exposure, e.g., developmental neurotoxicity and endocrine disruption. Information submissions must be received by November 6, 2015. See Federal Register, October 7, 2015. Issue 581
A case-control study has reportedly identified a “significant” association between bovine leukemia virus (BLV) infection and human breast cancer. Gertrude Case Buehring, et al., “Exposure to Bovine Leukemia Virus Is Associated with Breast Cancer: A Case-Control Study,” PLoS One, September 2015. After analyzing breast tissue specimens obtained from 239 donors for the presence of BLV, University of California, Berkeley, researchers apparently detected BLV “in the mammary epithelium of 59% of women diagnosed with breast cancer versus 29% of those with no history of breast cancer.” They further suggest that “as many as 37% of breast cancer cases may be attributable to BLV exposure,” with an odds ratio “comparable to that of commonly cited reproductive, hormone, and lifestyle risk factors for non-hereditary (sporadic) breast cancer.” As explained in a concurrent press release, a 2014 study published in Emerging Infectious Diseases confirmed the presence of BLV in humans, though it is currently…
Tufts University researchers have purportedly implicated sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) in 184,000 deaths worldwide each year after estimating the role of SSB consumption in adiposity-related cardiovascular diseases (CVD), cancers and diabetes. Gitanjali Singh, et al., “Estimated Global, Regional, and National Disease Burdens Related to Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption in 2010,” Circulation, July 2015. Relying on data from 611,971 individuals surveyed between 1980 and 2010, “along with data on national availability of sugar in 187 countries and other information,” the study estimates that SSB consumption allegedly contributed to 133,000 deaths from diabetes, 45,000 deaths from CVD, and 6,450 deaths from cancer. It also notes that among the most populous countries, Mexico had the largest absolute and proportional deaths from SSBs, with proportional mortality reaching 30 percent in Mexican adults younger than age 45. “The health impact of sugar-sweetened beverage intake on the young is important because younger adults form a large sector of…
