Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) is the antioxidant the food industry lists as E320. In our table it is high risk: it takes 30 points off the additive subscore, which is worth a third of a product's score (about 10 of the 100).
- The key finding, from IARC: Possibly carcinogenic to humans, from oral rodent forestomach studies, dietary route (IARC classification list, Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), CAS 25013-16-5, Group 2B (Vol. 40, Suppl. 7, 1987))
- No child flag. The class, and the points it costs, are the same for a child of any age.
- Where you meet it. It turns up in 4 of the 10,000 packaged foods scanned most on Open Food Facts, most often in ready meals. Nine in ten of those foods are sold in Europe (counted 26 Sep 2026).
- 4 citations from IARC, OEHHA, US state law and EFSA, each one below.
What BHA does to a score
A packaged food's additive subscore starts at 100 and loses points for each additive on the label; that subscore is a third of the final score. BHA takes 30 points off the additive subscore, which is worth a third of a product's score (about 10 of the 100). Scan the pack in Sito and the score you get is the one for your own child's age, with this additive named in the reasons. How we score has the whole method.
See what is in your own cupboard
Scan a packaged food and Sito names the additives in it, then scores the product out of 100 for your child's age.
What the sources found
Every classification in our table comes from the citations below, and nothing else. Each finding is our one-line summary of what the source concluded, with the source and reference beside it.
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IARC
classification list — Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), CAS 25013-16-5, Group 2B (Vol. 40, Suppl. 7, 1987)
Possibly carcinogenic to humans, from oral rodent forestomach studies — dietary route. -
OEHHA
Proposition 65 list — butylated hydroxyanisole, CAS 25013-16-5, listed 1990-01-01 (cancer)
Listed under Prop 65 as known to the State of California to cause cancer since 1990-01-01. -
US state law
West Virginia HB 2354 (signed 2025-03-24); TX SB 25, 89th Leg. (2025)
WV prohibits BHA in food sold in the state — school nutrition programs from 2025-08-01 (in force), all food from 2028-01-01 (preliminarily enjoined Dec 2025). TX SB 25 names BHA among 44 ingredients triggering a warning label from 2027-01-01 (enforcement enjoined 2026-02-11). -
EFSA
10.2903/j.efsa.2011.2392 and 10.2903/j.efsa.2012.2759
ADI raised to 1.0 mg/kg bw/day (forestomach hyperplasia judged not relevant to humans; NOAEL 100 mg/kg from rat-pup growth/mortality/behaviour); additive-only exposure below the ADI, but combined food + food-contact-material exposure 'does exceed the ADI for most population groups'.
Why this class
IARC Group 1 or 2A with a dietary exposure route; or EFSA has withdrawn or negated a safety conclusion; or EFSA’s own exposure assessment finds a child age group exceeding the ADI at mean intake; or the substance is banned or formally being phased out for food use by the EU, by the US FDA, or under a US state law.
Our confidence in this row's classification is medium. Medium or low does not mean the evidence is weak; it means something about the row is still being pinned down, usually a regulatory status confirmed from one source rather than two.
Questions parents ask
Is BHA (E320) safe for kids?
High risk. In Sito it takes 30 points off the additive subscore, which is worth a third of a product's score (about 10 of the 100). The finding we rely on: Possibly carcinogenic to humans, from oral rodent forestomach studies, dietary route (IARC classification list, Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), CAS 25013-16-5, Group 2B (Vol. 40, Suppl. 7, 1987)).
What is E320?
E320 is the E number for Butylated hydroxyanisole, an antioxidant. It is also called BHA. Open Food Facts tags it en:e320.
Next to it on the label
The E numbers either side of E320 in our table, then the closest antioxidants by number.
- Octyl gallate (E311), high risk
- Dodecyl gallate (E312), high risk
- Erythorbic acid (E315), no risk identified
- Sodium erythorbate (E316), no risk identified
- TBHQ (E319), low risk, flagged for young children
- BHT (E321), low risk, flagged for young children