Provided by: www.ewg.org
Carcinogens produce either malignant or benign tumors in animals or humans. Some chemicals initiate cancer by causing genetic alterations that lead to a cancerous tumor. Others promote the growth of cancer cells, but may not themselves initiate the process of tumor formation. Mixtures of these initiators and promoters can accelerate tumor formation. The transformation of a normal cell into a cancerous growth is a multistage process that occurs gradually over many years.
Examples of chemicals in food that cause cancer in humans are vinyl chloride, which causes liver sarcomas, arsenic, which causes skin and lung cancer, and benzene, which causes leukemia. Scores of other chemicals in food, including the fungicides captan, iprodione, and ethylene thiourea, most synthetic pyrethroid insecticides, and the herbicides acetochlor, atrazine and simazine cause cancer in well-conducted, peer reviewed animals studies.
Often, but not always, the fetus or infant is more vulnerable to a cancer causing substance. According to the Office of Children's Health Protection of the U.S. EPA, cancer incidence in children under 15 has been rising steadily for the past three decades, particularly rates of childhood leukemia and brain cancer. EPA, however, does not require cancer causing pesticides to be tested for their carcinogenic potential in fetal or infant animals, nor does the agency apply additional protections in the absence of this critical information. For all practical purposes, safety standards for cancer causing pesticides in food do not include protections for exposures that occur in the womb or the first years of life.
For additional information on cancer and food, consult the following links:
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