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Ethylene Dichloride
Level 5 — High concernIn Winter's Dictionary
Ethylene Dichloride is a solvent processing aid — Halogenated hydrocarbon fumigant and solvent
Also: EDC, 1,2-Dichloroethane
What it does
Halogenated hydrocarbon fumigant and solvent
Where you'll see it
Cereal grain, corn grits, cracked rice, fermented malt beverages, spices, animal feed, human milk (residues found)
What the research says
Highly toxic by ingestion, inhalation, skin absorption. NCI found it caused stomach cancer, vascularized cancers, breast cancers, uterine cancers, respiratory tract cancers. Implicated in worker sterility. JECFA: should not be used in food.
Regulatory status
- US FDA: NIL
- Notes: FDA tolerance 125 ppm in cereal grain
Sources
- A Consumer's Dictionary of Food Additives (Winter): the National Cancer Institute found this compound caused stomach cancer, vascularized cancers of multiple organs, and cancers beneath the skin in male rats