The Disadvantages Of Preservatives In Foods

The USDA Dietary Guidelines recommends you consume nutrient-dense foods, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains and legumes and avoid eating processed foods. Whereas nutrient-dense foods may reduce your risk of disease, processed foods can increase your risk. Processed foods contain preservatives, chemicals that manufacturers use to block the growth of harmful microorganisms, improve appearance and extend the shelf life of products. Preservatives may also increase health risks.

Types

Antimicrobial, antioxidants and chelating agents comprise the majority of food preservatives. Antimicrobial preservatives prevent bacteria, parasites, fungi and viruses from growing on the food and include nitrites, sorbates, benzoates and propionates. Antioxidant preservatives inhibit or slow down the rate foods decompose, particularly in presence of oxygen at room temperature or higher. Antioxidant preservatives include butylated hydroxyanisole, or BHA; butylated hydroxytoluene, or BHT; and sulfites. Chelating agents, such as disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, or EDTA; polyphosphates; and citric acid bind and prevent metal ions from spoiling foods through oxidation.

Respiratory Disease

Consuming foods preserved with sulfites may trigger asthma symptoms, such as wheezing, particularly if you have a history of respiratory diseases. Food manufacturers use sulfites to preserve dried fruits, shrimp, pickled foods and wine. As a result of complaints by consumers who experienced allergic reactions after consuming fruits and vegetables preserved with sulfites, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, now prohibits the use of sulfites on fresh produce, except potatoes, according to a report by the FDA and published in the "Journal of Food Protection" in 2004.

Cancer

Food preservatives, such as EDTA and nitrites, may increase your risk of cancer. Food manufacturers use EDTA in sodas and other types of beverages that contain sodium benzoate, a preservative, to prevent a chemical reaction that produces benzene, a substance that may cause cancer. Research by scientists at the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute in Florence, Italy and published in "Tumori" in 2009 reports that exposure to benzene increases risk for breast cancer. After ingestion, your body converts nitrites, a preservative manufacturers uses in processed meats, into nitrosamines, a substance that can cause cancer. Research by scientists at the National Institute of Environmental Medicine at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden and published in the "International Journal of Cancer" in 2006 found that high dietary consumption of processed meat preserved with nitrites may increase the risk of stomach cancer.

Fatalities

Food preservatives can also be lethal. Research published in the "Journal of the Egyptian Public Health Association" in 2001 discovered that intake of foods preserved with sodium benzoate and sodium nitrite among pregnant rats is associated with a higher death rate in offspring. The results suggest that pregnant women should heed caution or avoid the consumption of foods containing these preservatives.