One food preservative able to damage our immune system because of their own toxicity it has been found in many foods on the market in supermarkets. It is no mystery that large food industries use chemical agents to stabilize and guarantee long shelf life, and it is precisely one of these elements that is, in particular, dangerous.
The preservative is the tertiary butylhydroquinone (Tbhq), indicated on food labels with the initials E319; its only job is to stretch the shel-life the life of the food on the shelves.
We often find this preservative in cereals, snacks, fried foods and pretzels; in all those products, therefore, that belong to the world of industrialized foods.
Tbhq: the toxic preservative that weakens the immune system
The Tbhq has been used in processed foods for decades and only now, thanks to a report by a group of epidemiologists from theEnvironment working group (Ewg), the correlation between weakening of the immune system and the consumption of this preservative, the sole purpose of which is to preserve the taste of food while it is on a shelf.
If the use can be advantageous for the industrialists it is completely disadvantageous for the consumer who will suffer from immunotoxic effects of the Tbhq.
The US non-profit group, Ewg, thus detected and revealed the presence at different concentrations of the preservative in over 1,250 food products. Very famous industries such as Kellogg’s, Nestlé and Knorr have also come into its sights.
Immunotoxicity has been proven by preclinical evidence showing such as Tbhq slow the activation of T lymphocytes, thus weakening theelimination of viral infection from the body. The TBHQ could affect not only the functioning of the flu vaccines, but it could be linked to the increase in food allergy. An alarming element, that of vaccines, especially in this period.
It is therefore necessary, to avoid this food, check the labels carefully, although this does not exclude that the Tbhq can be used in food packaging, especially in plastic ones and therefore not listed on the food label.
The American study: the preservative that can affect the Covid vaccine
The subject of the study was not only the TBHQ but also the well-known ones Pfas, perfluoroalkyl substances, which come to food from packaging or through land and water, as in the case of Veneto. The Pfas could weaken the antibody response to viruses, especially that of the flu, is even more worrying could reduce the effectiveness of vaccines.
Furthermore, according to recent research there could be a link between high levels of Pfas in the blood e the severity of Covid-19.
The Toxic Preservative: Agencies use 1998 data
Within the analysis presented, an appeal emerges to the regulatory agencies for update the regulations with stricter limits than the current ones.
TBHQ is in fact authorized as a food additive by both the US agency Fda (Food and Drug Administration) and by the European agency Efsa (European Food Safety Authority).
However, since the potential toxicity is known, the level is set at 0.7 mg / kg, but the data on which they would be based are somewhat “dated”: research dating back to 1998 when the links between Tbhq and weakening of the immune system were not known.
The denunciation: international agencies make tougher rules
“Food manufacturers have no incentive to change their formulas“. These were the words of Scott Faber, EWG’s vice president of government affairs, declaring how important it is for agencies to control these chemicals in a more health-conscious way.
In fact, according to the study, international agencies do not pay enough attention to chemicals that can weaken the immune defenses against infections or cancer. The study, recalling these hard times of the pandemic concluded:
The pandemic is shedding light on environmental factors impacting the immune system. To safeguard public health, more stringent immunotoxicity tests are needed on these foods and regulations in line with the new scientific literature