Saccharin vs Butylated Hydroxyanisole: which is worse?

What is Saccharin?

Saccharin is the oldest artificial sweetener, discovered accidentally at Johns Hopkins in 1879. It is a sulfonamide compound approximately 300-400 times sweeter than sucrose with no caloric value. It has a slightly bitter metallic aftertaste at higher concentrations. Saccharin's sodium salt (sodium saccharin) is the form used in most food applications.

What is Butylated Hydroxyanisole?

Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) is a synthetic phenolic antioxidant preservative derived from petroleum (see also bha entry). It is a mixture of 2-BHA and 3-BHA isomers, used to prevent oxidative rancidity in fats, oils, and fat-containing foods. Chemical formula C11H16O2.

Documented risks

Saccharin: Saccharin's carcinogenicity history is one of the most tumultuous in food regulatory history. In 1977, the FDA proposed banning saccharin after studies found it caused bladder cancer in rats at very high doses. Congress passed the Saccharin Study and Labeling Act, which put a moratorium on the ban and required a cancer warning label on saccharin products ('Use of this product may be hazardous to your health. This product contains saccharin which has been determined to cause cancer in laboratory animals.'). By 2000, saccharin was removed from the US National Toxicology Program's Report on Carcinogens after subsequent research determined that the bladder cancer in male rats was caused by a rat-specific mechanism — high pH, high protein, and calcium phosphate in rat urine — that does not apply to human urine. The cancer warning label requirement was repealed. IARC also removed saccharin from its Group 2B list in 1999. However, Canada maintained its ban on food use saccharin, citing continued precautionary concern. A 2022 study in Cell found saccharin was among the artificial sweeteners most significantly altering gut microbiome composition and glucose tolerance in previously non-sweetener-using participants. Saccharin showed the largest effect on glucose tolerance among the sweeteners studied (saccharin, sucralose, aspartame, stevia). Saccharin passes through the placenta and appears in breast milk, raising questions about infant exposure that have not been fully resolved.

Butylated Hydroxyanisole: IARC classifies BHA as Group 2B (possible human carcinogen) based on forestomach tumor studies in rodents at high doses. The NTP lists it as 'reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen.' EFSA's 2012 review found endocrine-disrupting potential. Japan banned it for food use. The FDA permits it at 0.02% of fat content. Concerns about estrogen-receptor interaction have been documented in animal studies. Contact dermatitis from cosmetic use is reported.