09/22/2026
FULL TRANSPARENCY: WHY WE DON’T USE BLEACHED OR BROMATED FLOUR
At Divine Delights Bakery VA, I believe customers have the right to know what goes into the food they purchase.
So let’s talk about flour.
We do not use bleached flour or bromated flour in our breads and baked goods.
This is an intentional ingredient choice I have made for Divine Delights.
WHY DON’T WE USE BROMATED FLOUR?
Potassium bromate is a dough-conditioning agent that has historically been used in bread production to strengthen dough and improve its rise.
The reason I choose not to use it is because there are legitimate toxicological concerns surrounding potassium bromate.
Research has demonstrated carcinogenic effects in experimental animals. Long-term studies have found tumors in rats exposed to potassium bromate.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) concluded that there is sufficient evidence that potassium bromate is carcinogenic in experimental animals and classified it as possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B). Evidence regarding cancer in humans was considered inadequate. (IARC Publications)
That distinction matters.
I am not going to tell you that eating a loaf of bread made with bromated flour will cause cancer. The available human evidence does not establish that.
What I will say is this:
We have never used flour containing potassium bromate in our bakery.
I have intentionally chosen flour that does not contain it, and that has been our standard from the beginning.
AND WHAT ABOUT BLEACHED FLOUR?
Bleaching is a separate issue from bromation.
Flour can be chemically treated to alter characteristics such as color, texture, and baking performance.
For Divine Delights, I choose unbleached flour because that is the type of flour I want to use in my recipes.
This isn’t about telling another baker what they should use.
It is about being transparent about what I choose to use.
WHAT THIS MEANS AT DIVINE DELIGHTS
I intentionally choose the flour that goes into my recipes.
I research the flour I intend to use before using it.
I know what ingredients I am purchasing.
I label my products with the information required for the foods I sell.
And when I tell you that our breads and baked goods are made without bleached or bromated flour, that is an intentional ingredient standard I have chosen for Divine Delights.
I’m not interested in fear-mongering, and I’m not interested in telling you what you have to buy.
I’m simply telling you what I choose to put into the food I make and sell.
Because transparency matters.
WANT TO READ THE SOURCES?
I believe customers should be able to look at the information for themselves.
International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) — Potassium Bromate: https://publications.iarc.who.int/Book-And-Report-Series/Iarc-Monographs-On-The-Identification-Of-Carcinogenic-Hazards-To-Humans/Some-Chemicals-That-Cause-Tumours-Of-The-Kidney-Or-Urinary-Bladder-In-Rodents-And-Some-Other-Substances-1999
U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) — Potassium Bromate: https://www.hfpappexternal.fda.gov/scripts/fdcc/index.cfm?id=POTASSIUMBROMATE&set=FoodSubstances&utm_source=chatgpt.com
I encourage you to read the sources and make your own informed decisions about the foods you purchase.
Know what you’re buying.
Know what you’re eating.
Know who made it.
🩷🩵 Divine Delights Bakery VA
Evaluates the carcinogenic risk to humans posed by 20 individual compounds and three groups of compounds (cyclamates, saccharin and its salts, and nitrilotriacetic acid and its salts) that are known to induce tumours of the kidney or urinary bladder in rodents. As data on cancer in humans were judge...
