IARC 60th Anniversary - 19-21 May 2026
Session : Rapid Fire
Food colouring additives and cancer incidence in the NutriNet-Santé prospective cohort
SHAH S. 1,2, HASENBÖHLER A. 1,2, JAVAUX G. 1, PAYEN DE LA GARANDERIE M. 1,2, SZABO DE EDELENYI F. 1, YVROUD P. 1, AGAËSSE C. 1, DE SA A. 1, HUYBRECHTS I. 2,3, PIERRE F. 2,4, AUDEBERT M. 2,4, COUMOUL X. 2,5, JULIA C. 1,6, KESSE-GUYOT E. 1,2, ALLÈS B. 1, HERCBERG S. 1,2,6, CHASSAING B. 2,7, DESCHASAUX-TANGUY M. 1,2, SROUR B. 1,2, TOUVIER M. 1,2
1 Université Sorbonne Paris Nord and Université Paris Cité, INSERM, INRAE, CNAM, Centre for Research in Epidemiology and StatisticS (CRESS), Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (EREN), Bobigny, France; 2 Nutrition And Cancer Research Network (NACRe network, https://www.nacrenetwork.eu), Jouy-en-Josas, France; 3 International Agency for Research on Cancer, World Health Organization, Lyon, France; 4 Toxalim (Research Centre in Food Toxicology), Université de Toulouse, INRAE, ENVT, INP-Purpan, UPS, Toulouse, France; 5 INSERM T3S, UMR-S 1124, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France; 6 Public Health Department, Groupe Hospitalier Paris-Seine-Saint-Denis, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Bobigny, France; 7 Microbiome-Host Interactions, Institut Pasteur, INSERM U1306, CNRS UMR6047, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France
Background: Evidence from prospective studies links high ultra-processed foods consumption to higher incidence of several noncommunicable diseases including cancer. There is also growing evidence from epidemiological and experimental research supporting mechanistic plausibility of food additives in cancer incidence. Nevertheless, evidence from human studies is scarce due to lack of precise brand-specific exposure data in epidemiological studies so far.
Objectives: Our study aimed to assess potential associations between exposure to food colouring additives and cancer incidence in the French NutriNet-Santé cohort.
Methods: A total of 105,260 adults (78.3% females; mean age 42.0 years [14.5]) without prevalent cancer and who completed ≥2 24-hour dietary records at baseline were followed for >7 years. Dietary intakes were assessed using repeated brand-specific 24h records, and cumulative time-dependent exposure to food additives was evaluated through multiple composition databases and ad-hoc laboratory assays in food matrices. Associations between exposures to food colouring additives (sex-specific tertiles if proportion of exposed participants >2/3, or non-exposed/lower/higher exposed based on sex-specific median otherwise) and cancer incidence were assessed using multivariable Cox proportional hazards models.
Results: We identified 4,226 incident cancer cases (508 prostate, 1,208 breast [387 premenopausal and 821 postmenopausal], and 352 colorectal). Total food colouring additives were associated with higher overall [HRhigher versus non/lower consumers (95% CI): 1.14 (1.05–1.24)], breast [1.21 (1.03–1.42)], and postmenopausal breast [1.32 (1.09–1.61)] cancer incidence. After False Discovery Rate correction, the following individual food colouring additives were associated with higher cancer incidence: plain caramel (European code: E150a) with overall cancer [1.15 (1.07–1.25)] and beta-carotene (E160a) with overall [1.16 (1.07–1.25)] and breast [1.41 (1.23–1.62)] cancer.
Conclusions: Our findings suggest associations between widely used food colouring additives and cancer incidence. Further research is needed to provide new insights into underlying mechanisms. If confirmed, they warrant a reassessment of current regulatory frameworks and support recommendations to limit exposure to non-essential food additives.