NEWS
03/02/1993

<TITLE>FDA TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETING ON BUTYLATED HYDROXYANISOLE (BHA)</TITLE>
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NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS                       Brad Stone
March 2, 1993                                (202) 205-4144

         FDA TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETING ON BUTYLATED HYDROXYANISOLE (BHA)

    FDA today announced that it will hold a public meeting on April 15, 1993,   
to solicit scientific data and information on the food ingredient butylated     
hydroxyanisole (BHA).  The meeting is being organized for FDA by the            
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) and will be   
held at FASEB offices, 9650 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, Md.
    Information presented at the meeting will be used by FASEB to prepare a     
report for FDA on the safety of BHA.  Questions about the safety of BHA have    
arisen, in part, from some studies that indicated an association between BHA    
and cancer in two animal species.  FDA has asked FASEB to reexamine all         
available data on the safety of BHA and evaluate whether these animal studies   
are relevant to the occurrence of cancer in humans.
    For further information contact:  Sue Ann Anderson or Elwood O. Titus,      
Life Sciences Research Office, Federal of American Societies for Experimental   
Biology, 9650 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, Md. 20814, (301) 530-7030; or Office    
of Policy, Planning and Strategic Initiatives, Food and Drug Administration,    
200 C St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20204, (202) 205-8753.
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