Stove Top Stuffing, a common dinner item during Thanksgiving, is banned in several European countries.
Two of its ingredients are linked to cancer, according to The New York Post. The man-made ingredients, butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), are used to enhance the flavor and act as food preservatives.
The two ingredients are banned in the United Kingdom, European Union, and Japan.
Dr. Neha Pathak, part of WebMD’s medical team, told The Post, “A lot of countries have much stricter rules around what’s allow in food.”
“These types of preservatives are banned in the European Union, and mostly it’s because of the cancer risk. The cancer risk is something that is concerning and certainly reasonably anticipated based on the studies we have,” she said, adding, “There are lots of animal studies that show that high doses can cause tumor development in rats and hamsters. It is classified as reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen.”
Pathak noted that the chemicals may be endocrine disruptors, interfering with hormone function.
“We are eating a lot of these types of foods, and BHA, BHT are not just in Stove Top Stuffing,” she explained. “We have to be very thoughtful about what we are buying and putting into our bodies year-round. This is just one example to highlight the types of chemicals that unfortunately are in a lot of our ultra-processed foods.”
A spokesperson for Stove Top told The Post that “[e]very box is crafted with care, following the same high-quality standards that we use across every one of our brands, while also exceeding the strict safety guidelines set by government agencies. We will proudly serve Stove Top to our families this Thanksgiving.”
