Só por curiosidade, não é para lançar polémica.
Obrigado
EDIT: Vi isto aqui (http://extoxnet.orst.edu/faqs/additive/preserca.htm#BHA)
Qual a validade deste site, alguém conhece? É da Universidade do Oregon, o que não me diz nada...BHA
Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) is a phenolic antioxidant Phenolic antioxidants prevent rancidity of fats and oils in food by protecting against lipid oxidation.
When the food additives amendment was enacted (1958), BHA and BHT were listed as common preservatives considered generally recognized as safe (GRAS). GRAS regulations limit BHA and BHT to 0.02 percent or 200 parts per million (ppm) of the fat or oil content of the food product.
Both BHT and BHA have been removed from the GRAS list and subjected to tolerances.
BHA is also used as a preservative for dry foods, such as cereals. The FDA set limits for each type of food. On cereals, for example, FDA limited BHA to 50 ppm of the total product.
Studies have suggested that at very high levels in the diets of laboratory animals, BHA could cause tumors in the forestomach of rats, mice and hamsters, and liver tumors in fish. The importance of this in humans is unknown, because humans do not have forestomachs. BHA did not cause cancer in experimental dogs, pigs, and monkeys, species which do not have forestomachs.
Other studies have shown that BHA protects against some chemical carcinogens, depending on the conditions of the tests.
Este é um estudo já com algum tempo, mas foi o mais recente que encontrei.
Z Lebensm Unters Forsch. 1993 Apr;196(4):329-38.
[Toxicology of the synthetic antioxidants BHA and BHT in comparison with the natural antioxidant vitamin E]
[Article in German]
Kahl R, Kappus H.
Abteilung für Pharmakologie, Universität Hamburg, Deutschland.
The toxicology of the food preservatives butylhydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylhydroxytoluene (BHT) as well as the naturally occurring vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) is described. In high dosages all three compounds induce in animals impairment of blood clotting, which can be explained by an antagonism with vitamin K. Specific toxic effects to the lung have only been observed with BHT. The other described toxic effects of BHA and BHT are less characteristic and often occur only after high dosage and long-term treatment. However, BHA induces in animals tumours of the forestomach, which are dose dependent, whereas BHT induces liver tumours in long-term experiments. Because there is no indication of genotoxicity of BHA and BHT, all published findings agree with the fact that BHA and BHT are tumour promoters. In contrast to BHA and BHT, vitamin E is not carcinogenic. On the other hand, all three antioxidants have also anticarcinogenic properties. The intake of the necessary high doses as for these effects are, however, contraindicated with BHA and BHT because of their carcinogenic effects. The present overview concludes that the concentrations of BHA and BHT nowadays used in food, drugs and cosmetics are probably harmless. In addition, vitamin E can also be used in higher doses without the occurrence of adverse effects.