Why use of bromate as a bread improver is banned in many countries ?
This additive has long been used to increase the volume of bread and to produce bread with a fine crumb structure. However, bromate itself causes cancer in animals. Bromate was first found to cause tumors in rats in 1982. Subsequent studies on rats and mice confirmed that it causes tumors of the kidney, thyroid, and other organs. Bromate has been banned virtually worldwide except in few countries like USA and India.
