Two large observational studies from France report that people who consumed more food preservatives had higher rates of type 2 diabetes and certain cancers over long-term follow-up, adding fresh evidence to ongoing debates about ultra-processed foods and health. The research relied on repeated 24-hour dietary records and tracked participants’ health outcomes over many years, so it can identify associations but cannot prove preservatives directly cause disease. Researchers and commentators say the findings could help guide future safety reviews and encourage manufacturers to avoid unnecessary additives—an actionable, hopeful lever for prevention if confirmed by further work.

Highlights:

• Study scale: The cancer analysis followed more than 105,000 participants for 14 years after enrollment began in 2009, using repeated 24-hour dietary records to estimate additive exposure.
• Which additives: In the cancer study, higher intake of six of the 17 preservatives analyzed showed some link with cancer diagnoses.
• Diabetes breadth: A separate analysis reported that higher consumption of 12 out of 17 studied preservatives was associated with increased type 2 diabetes risk.
• Possible pathways: The researchers suggest some preservatives may influence immune function and inflammatory processes, offering plausible biological routes to explore in future studies.
• Everyday relevance: Because preservatives are widely used in processed foods and drinks to extend shelf life, the authors and reporting emphasize that small formulation changes could affect large populations if the associations hold up.

Perspectives:

• Study authors (cancer paper): They emphasize the results show associations rather than proof of causation, and argue the findings could inform re-evaluations of preservative safety and support avoiding unnecessary use in products. (scimex.org)
• Science news coverage: Coverage frames the work as potentially important for public health because preservatives are ubiquitous globally, while noting that the evidence comes from observational studies rather than randomized trials. (theguardian.com)
• Online science community: A widely shared discussion highlights the diabetes paper as a first-of-its-kind look at preservative additives and new-onset type 2 diabetes, drawing attention to the topic among non-specialists. (reddit.com)

Sources:

• A Hidden Ingredient in Processed Foods May Raise Diabetes Risk - scitechdaily.com
• Eating more food preservatives may be linked to higher cancer risk - scimex.org
• New study suggests a high consumption of food preservatives increased the risk of type 2 diabetes by almost 50%. This is the first study in the world on the links between preservative additives and the incidence of type 2 diabetes. - reddit.com
• Studies link some food preservatives to higher diabetes and cancer risk - theguardian.com