The discovery of a cancer-causing chemical in a health food product will worry those who make use of evening primrose oil. Levels are so low, however, that there should be little risk to health, according to the Food Safety Authority of Ireland.
The two brands of evening primrose oil removed from the shop shelves were found to contain unacceptably high levels of a cancer-causing chemical, benzo(a)pyrene. This substance is one of a family of chemicals known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which occur mainly as by-products of incomplete burning.
Common sources include road vehicle exhaust, open fires, the burning of wood and other plant materials, industrial boilers and the smoke from tobacco products. Once airborne they can settle on food and water sources. They do not dissolve in water but do accumulate readily in fat and so can be moved into the food chain to be consumed in the foods we eat. Certain types of food preparation, particularly charbroiling, grilling, roasting and frying, also form these chemicals.
The World Health Organisation and the US Environmental Protection Agency both describe this chemical as a possible cancer-causing agent. A number of research laboratories including the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York have found that benzo(a)pyrene can cause genetic mutations associated with the development of cancer.