Present in industrial food and its raw materials, the preservative E319 weakens our immune system, especially the cells that localize and fight the flu virus.
Published on April 7, a study from the State University of Michigan (USA) reveals that tertiary butylhydroquinone (BHQT), a food additive better known as E319, threatens our immune system and increases consumers' vulnerability to the flu virus. Banned in several countries such as Japan in particular, E319 remains authorized in Europe or the United States, where it is used for food preservation and high-fat industrial preparations. In other words, it is impossible to produce an exhaustive list of products containing tertiary butylhydroquinone because it is present almost everywhere in the industrial diet and its ingredients.
In the form of trace amounts or in larger quantities, E319 has been found for example in industrial nuts, ice cream, popcorn, spreads, chicken nuggets, frozen potatoes, chips, crackers, cereals, milk powder, vegetable oil and fish, in cooking of animal fats, mixes for cakes, dehydrated or frozen meat and fish, dehydrated soups. Diving into a fast food restaurant or consuming fresh or frozen industrial meals is certainly a good idea for using tertiary butylhydroquinone. The problem, according to Robert Freeborn, doctoral student and Cheryl Rockwell, professor of pharmacology and toxicology who led the study for the University of Michigan, is that E319 poses a serious threat to our bodies. In any case, this is the conclusion they reached after exposing the mice to the preservative, in quantities proportional to those consumed by humans. They observed in rodents a significant reduction in the number of CD8 T cells, which are responsible for fighting the influenza virus, and CD4 and CD8 T cells that localize the virus in the body. Inflammation of the rodents' lungs was also identified by the researchers.
It is not the first time, notes Giovanni D'Agata, president of the “Rights Office”, that scientific research has questioned substances that are generally used in the food industry. However, the objective fact remains that the same additive has already been banned in some states, such as Japan, where evidently the possible and even potential negative consequences for the health of consumers have been acknowledged. This not insignificant circumstance prompts us to ask for an immediate verification by the national and European health authorities of the existence of the conditions for the usability of the additive in question in food.