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• Preserv (216, 202)
I hope you are paying attention because you need to know about the first preservative here called propyl paraben (216). This substance has been the subject of many studies. In 2004 the European Food Safety Authority issued an advisory that the presumed safe exposure level for propyl paraben in food was no longer valid because it affected sex hormones and the male reproductive organs in young rats. The decision cited a study by researchers in Tokyo which found that propyl paraben decreased sperm counts in young rats at and below the concentrations which the US Food and Drug Administration considers safe for human consumption in food.
Based on that advice, in 2006, regulators removed propyl paraben from the list of food additives authorised for use in the European Union.
It is still allowed for use in New Zealand and in other countries.
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My recommendations
I find it astonishing that a supermarket would sell this with their name proudly displayed on this nasty label.
Not only does it contain a solvent but it also contains a known hormone disruptor, propyl paraben.
Surely, in the interests of their consumers, the supermarket chain should look at replacing this cake with something which resembles the real thing, containing real food and no additives.