Study ties 8 common food preservatives to heart disease
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- NutriNet-Santé researchers tracked 112,395 French adults' diets and health for an average of 7-8 years, finding that 99.5% of participants consumed at least one food preservative within the first two years.
- Participants with the highest non-antioxidant preservative intake faced a 29% greater hypertension risk and a 16% higher risk of cardiovascular disease — including heart attack, stroke, and angina — compared with those consuming the least.
- High antioxidant preservative consumers showed a 22% greater hypertension risk, with ascorbic acid (E300) the only additive also specifically tied to cardiovascular disease.
- Eight of 17 commonly consumed preservatives were individually linked to higher blood pressure: potassium sorbate (E202), potassium metabisulphite (E224), sodium nitrite (E250), ascorbic acid (E300), sodium ascorbate (E301), sodium erythorbate (E316), citric acid (E330), and rosemary extracts (E392).
- Dr. Mathilde Touvier and PhD student Anaïs Hasenböhler of INSERM and Université Sorbonne Paris Nord led the study, published in the European Heart Journal, urging EFSA and FDA to re-evaluate the risks of these food additives.
- The team is continuing to investigate biological mechanisms — oxidative stress, inflammation, blood metabolic markers, and gut microbiota — that could explain the additive-disease link.
Why it matters: With 99.5% of participants exposed and eight specific additives — including everyday staples like citric acid and ascorbic acid — tied to hypertension, EFSA and FDA now face pressure to revisit safety thresholds for preservatives found in virtually all industrially processed food.
