Azodicarbonamide

What this is

Azodicarbonamide (ADA) is a chemical additive used as a flour bleaching and dough conditioning agent in bread products. In the U.S. and Canada, it is legally added to flour in very small amounts (up to 45 parts per million) to strengthen dough and improve texture. However, when bread with ADA is baked, the compound breaks down into trace byproducts – including semicarbazide and ethyl carbamate (urethane) – that have caused cancer in mice at high doses. Due to such safety concerns, ADA is banned as a food additive in Europe and some other countries as a precaution. U.S. regulators consider ADA safe at the low levels used, but many fast-food companies phased it out of their recipes following public concern in 2014.

Critical Endpoints

The key endpoints experts review in safety assessments (critical endpoints). This is not a prediction of harm.