Potassium Bromate
INS 924a, potassium bromate, bromate of potash
What it is
Potassium bromate is a strong oxidising flour-treatment and dough-strengthening agent. Codex formerly identified it as INS 924a but withdrew potassium bromate from the International Numbering System in 2012.
Why BOTIA flags it
Potassium bromate is a strong oxidising flour improver intended to be converted to bromide during baking, but JECFA found that measurable bromate can remain in bread. In experimental animals, bromate reaches kidney tissue and causes oxidative DNA damage; JECFA concluded that potassium bromate is a genotoxic carcinogen and that its use as a flour-treatment agent is not acceptable, while IARC classifies it as possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B). The United States still permits specified flour and bread uses, so a label declaration identifies the ingredient but not the amount of residual bromate after baking.
BOTIA CAN
- Detect potassium bromate and the former INS 924a identifier when they are explicitly declared.
- Explain its dough-strengthening function, the possibility of residual bromate after baking, the JECFA and IARC assessments and jurisdiction-specific legal status.
BOTIA CANNOT
- Measure how much bromate remains in a particular bread or other finished food after processing.
- Infer that flour or bread contains potassium bromate when it is not declared on the label.