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E924

Potassium bromate

What the research shows

Concerning

in animal and lab studies only

A colorless salt used as a source of bromate.

It acts as a strong oxidizing agent.1

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian

What research says

Animal and lab studies only

  • Concern

    DNA damage in liver cells3

    In lab studies, potassium bromate damaged DNA in human liver cells, but it is not known if this happens in people.

  • Concern

    Stomach and bone marrow cells4

    In animal studies, potassium bromate raised the number of cells with damaged DNA in the stomach and bone marrow.

  • Concern

    Gut damage in rats5

    In animal studies, potassium bromate harmed rat intestines, but taurine given first greatly reduced that damage.

  • Concern

    Kidney and thyroid tumors6

    In animal studies, potassium bromate caused kidney and thyroid tumors in rats and kidney damage in people.

Study type not stated

  • Concern

    Carcinogen risk in food2

    Potassium bromate is used to improve bread, but scientists have raised concerns about its effects on human health.

The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least one finding in people. When most findings in people point one way, the page leans that way (“Mostly”), and every finding is still shown. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.

What expert reviews concluded

Expert panels that weigh all the research. Shown for context: the signal at the top does not count them. IARC rates whether something can cause cancer at all, not how likely it is at the amounts in food.

Regulatory status

Checked Sep 2026

Status reflects the named register on the date checked. It is not a safety rating. A country appears here once we've found this ingredient on its official list.

How we check

Products

The 5 most-scanned of 422 products on Open Food Facts that list potassium bromate.

  • Mini White Pita Bread Paramount Baking Co. Inc. 5 additives
  • Flatbreads New York · 11 g 1 additive
  • Cuban Grab and Go Sandwich Publix 10 additives
  • Sugar Imperial 1 additive
  • Good Old Fashioned Cavin John · 20 oz 10 additives

References

  1. 1Potassium bromate. Wikipedia. Accessed September 26, 2026. CC BY-SA 4.0.
  2. 2Shanmugavel V, Komala Santhi K, Kurup AH, Kalakandan S, Anandharaj A, Rawson A. Potassium bromate: Effects on bread components, health, environment and method of analysis: A review. Food Chem. 2020;311:125964. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2019.125964
  3. 3Zhang Y, Jiang L, Jiang L, et al. Possible involvement of oxidative stress in potassium bromate-induced genotoxicity in human HepG2 cells. Chem Biol Interact. 2011;189(3):186-91. doi:10.1016/j.cbi.2010.12.011
  4. 4Okada E, Fujiishi Y, Narumi K, et al. Evaluation of repeated dose micronucleus assays of the liver and gastrointestinal tract using potassium bromate: a report of the collaborative study by CSGMT/JEMS.MMS. Mutat Res Genet Toxicol Environ Mutagen. 2015;780-781:94-9. doi:10.1016/j.mrgentox.2014.03.002
  5. 5Ahmad MK, Khan AA, Ali SN, Mahmood R. Chemoprotective effect of taurine on potassium bromate-induced DNA damage, DNA-protein cross-linking and oxidative stress in rat intestine. PLoS One. 2015;10(3):e0119137. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0119137
  6. 6Kurokawa Y, Maekawa A, Takahashi M, Hayashi Y. Toxicity and carcinogenicity of potassium bromate--a new renal carcinogen. Environ Health Perspect. 1990;87:309-35. doi:10.1289/ehp.9087309