Common Food Additive Found in Ice Cream, Chocolate, and Bread Linked to Diabetes

Recent French research indicates that certain food emulsifiers may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, underscoring the need for further studies to confirm these findings and potentially revise food additive regulations.

In Europe and North America, adults get 30 to 60% of their caloric intake from ultra-processed foods. A growing body of epidemiological research indicates that higher consumption of these foods is associated with increased risks of diabetes and other metabolic diseases.

Emulsifiers are among the most commonly used additives. They are often added to processed and packaged foods such as certain industrial cakes, biscuits, and desserts, as well as yogurts, ice creams, chocolate bars, industrial breads, margarines, and ready-to-eat or ready-to-heat meals, in order to improve their appearance, taste, and texture and lengthen shelf life. These emulsifiers include for instance mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids, carrageenans, modified starches, lecithins, phosphates, celluloses, gums, and pectins.

As with all food additives, the safety of emulsifiers had been previously evaluated by food safety and health agencies based on the scientific evidence that was available at the time of their evaluation. However, some recent studies suggest that emulsifiers may disrupt the gut microbiota and increase the risk of inflammation and metabolic disruption, potentially leading to DOI: 10.1016/S2213-8587(24)00086-X

[1]: Sensitivity analyses in epidemiology aim to test the robustness of statistical models by varying certain parameters, hypotheses, or variables in the model to assess the stability of the associations observed. For example, in this study, additional account was taken of sweetener consumption, weight gain during follow-up, and other metabolic diseases)