New York state legislators have sent a bill to Gov. Kathy Hochul that would ban the use of potassium bromate, a chemical additive that gives New York pizza its crisp crust and bagels their distinctive chew, following growing concern that the substance poses a cancer risk the federal government has never addressed. The measure, which passed both chambers this session, would make New York the second state to prohibit bromated flour in food, after California enacted a similar ban set to take effect in 2027.
Potassium bromate, classified as a possible human carcinogen by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer, is used to strengthen dough and speed the baking process. Animal studies have linked it to tumors, and it has been banned for decades in the European Union, Canada, the United Kingdom, Brazil, and elsewhere.
But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has permitted its use since the 1950s, and it remains an ingredient in many commercial flours, including Gold Medal, Pillsbury, and store brands. General Mills, which owns Gold Medal, petitioned the FDA for permission to use potassium bromate more than 60 years ago, and the agency has never responded to the petition, according to Erik Millstone, a food chemical safety expert at the University of Sussex.
The New York bill includes an exemption: baked goods would be allowed to contain bromated flour if manufacturers can prove that the additive breaks down completely into harmless bromide during baking. But Millstone and other food scientists say that threshold is almost impossible to meet in real-world commercial ovens, where temperatures and bake times vary. “For all practical purposes, it’s almost impossible to prove that there’s no residue of bromate in the final product,” Millstone said.
That uncertainty has divided the city’s dough-making community. Salvatore Lo Duca, who runs the family-owned Lo Duca Pizza in Brooklyn with his five brothers, began experimenting with non-bromated flour after learning the chemical was a suspected carcinogen. “When we started playing around with a different flour, I actually took a liking to it,” Lo Duca said. “It’s a little more expensive, but the quality is there.”
He is now a supporter of the ban, but others are more cautious. Jesse Spellman, who works at Bagel Pub in Brooklyn, said changing an ingredient that has shaped consumer expectations for generations risks alienating customers. “I don’t know if we want to go changing the formulas that people have come to know and love,” Spellman said.
Mario Mangilia, whose family has run John’s of Bleecker Street in Manhattan for decades, is also skeptical. Mangilia said the bill passed despite objections from some pizzerias, and he argued that a textural change would undermine the very identity of New York pizza. “You can’t change pizza,” he said.
The push in New York is part of a broader state-level movement to regulate food additives in the absence of federal action. California’s 2023 ban was the first in the nation, and similar bills have been introduced in Illinois, Massachusetts, and other states. California’s law, which takes effect in 2027, also targets potassium bromate, along with several other chemicals.
For now, the New York bill awaits Hochul’s decision. The governor has not publicly indicated whether she will sign it. If enacted, the law would take effect immediately, though enforcement would likely allow a transition period for bakeries to switch flours.