Food, Health Groups Clash Over FDA’s Preservative Safety Review

As the Food and Drug Administration reconsiders the safety of a common preservative used in frozen products and packaged snacks, agriculture and consumer food groups are urging the agency not to pull the chemical from the market or risk disrupting the food supply.

Public health advocates, on the other hand, warned officials that butylated hydroxyanisole, commonly known as BHA, used as a food additive or in products touching food likely causes cancer and urged the FDA to ban it.

The push-and-pull debate over BHA’s safety comes in response to the FDA’s February ask for public input about how the synthetic ...